It had been two days since Ziva had been called to the hospital and it had been two days since she had been outside of it. The furthest she had gone was to the bathroom to shower and change, although that was only when Jen was there to sit beside Sarah's bed with her.
She hadn't wanted any of the team to visit in the hospital yet, and that included Gibbs, as she found herself needing that solitude and time alone with her daughter despite the teen not being awake. Jen was different though, she was her best friend and had been there for her not long after her daughter's 'death'. The redheaded woman was the only one that had fully seen the suffering that Ziva had gone through following the loss of her only daughter.
Ziva was sat beside Sarah's bed on an emerald green chair as she held her daughter's hand within both of hers with her head bowed against it.
"I bought lunch", Jen whispered softly as she placed the brown bags on the table that went over the bottom of the bed.
The Israeli woman nodded, "Thank you", she replied softly before pressing a soft and loving kiss on her daughter's hand. She turned to face Jen who held out a container of food in her direction for her to take. "Thank you", she repeated as she took the food from her.
Jen just smiled, she had told her many times that 'thank you' was not needed, however, that did not stop the younger woman so now the Director simply smiled and nodded.
Ziva started eating her food straight away, "This is delicious", she commented.
"I'm glad that you like it", the woman replied with a smile.
It did not take them long to eat their lunch, "Why won't she wake up, Jen?", Ziva asked with a sigh as she watched her daughter continuing to sleep.
"I don't know", came the honest answer.
"They took her off of the meds early this morning and said she'd be awake in a few hours time", Ziva said softly, "It's been six hours now and she still hasn't woken up".
"Give her time", Jen said patiently, "Let her wake up in her own time, she needs the rest".
Ziva nodded with a sigh, "I know", she said softly, "I just want her to wake up... I...".
Sensing that Ziva could not end her sentence, Jen moved forward and wrapped the younger woman in her arms and held her close, "It will be okay", she said reassuringly.
It did not take long before the young girl's eyelashes began to flutter a little and her hand moved slightly.
Ziva jumped up from her seat where she had been sat on a chair beside the bed, "Sarah?", she whispered in question as she watched her daughter. She was glad that her status with NCIS and the fact that the Director was present had ensured they the ability to confirm the girl's identity so quickly.
Jenny watched the two of them from her position at the other side of the bed as she took a sip of her coffee.
It took a few flutters of her eyelids before she opened her eyes, her bright blue eyes squinting a little at the light filtering through the window into the hospital side room.
Sarah looked around the room, her eyes went wide as she realised where she was, "No, no, no", she mumbled in a whisper, "This wasn't supposed to happen".
Ziva cupped the girl's cheek, "It's going to be okay", she said reassuringly as she knew what the worry was after reading the note that had been left following the attempt on her life.
Jen reached out and pressed the orange call button that would signal for the nurses to attend to them.
"Don't worry", Ziva said with a soft smile, "We're both safe, it's okay".
Sarah looked up at her, her throat was a little scratchy as she spoke, "Promise?", she questioned with worry and concern clear in her facial expressions.
Ziva nodded, "Yes", she said softly, "I promise you".
The young girl was unsure as to whether or not to believe her, however, she found herself desperately wanting to. She wanted to feel safe for once, she needed to feel safe, and that was a feeling that she had not had in a very long time. Whenever she wanted to pretend she was safe, she would close her eyes and pretend that she was back with Thalia.
The dark-haired woman cautiously moved closer in order to sit on the edge of the bed, she knew to be careful as she did not wish to scare her daughter.
Sarah watched her with curiosity, however, she did not flinch or make any movement that would suggest she was uncomfortable with the proximity of her birth mother.
Ziva took it as a positive sign as she sat down on the bed before cupping her cheek again, "I have missed you so much", she said softly to her.
The Nurse entered the room and smiled brightly at them, "Well, Good Morning Sleeping Beauty", the woman said with a happy smile, "It is good to see you awake".
The child flinched back from the voice of the stranger and started to watch her with widened eyes.
"It's okay", the woman said with a smile, "I won't hurt you".
It was clear that Sarah had no inclination whatsoever to believe what the woman was saying as she had no reference of trust when it came to her, then again she did not trust very easily at all as it was something that she had not been raised to be able to do.
"My name is Alice", the blonde woman said with a bright smile, "I've paged your Doctor so that she can come and take a look at you but in the meantime would you like some ice chips? It will help make your throat feel a little better".
Sarah simply stared at the middle-aged woman but did not say a thing, she seemed to be studying her instead and trying to analyse as to whether or not she could be trusted or if she was some sort of a threat.
Jen observed the young girl's facial expressions for a moment and opted to speak up for her instead, "Please", she said simply, "When will she be able to eat or drink properly?".
"The Doctor will decide on that", Alice replied with a polite smile, "I'll go and get those ice chips for you and the Doctor should be here soon".
"Thank you", the Director said with a nod of her head before the nurse left the room.
Sarah looked in Jen's direction and smiled softly.
"It's good to see you awake", Jen said to her, "I'm Jen, a friend of your mother's".
"And her boss", the young Israeli added, "You're the Director".
Director Shepard nodded, "I am", she said with a smile, "How did you know that?".
"I am an Officer, I must know these things", she said simply with a voice that was void of emotion.
Ziva bit her lip as she tried not to cry.
"Do you like being an Officer?", Jen asked her gently.
Sarah paused as she decided as to whether or not she should answer that question, before she responded she looked around the room as if she were assessing the dangers, "No", was the simple answer.
"Then how about, you just be Sarah?", Jen asked with a smile, "You don't have to be an Officer anymore, you're safe here and I promise you that I won't let them take you back".
The girl looked down at her hand where Jen had placed her own softly on top of hers, she was studying it as if it were a strange and unusual thing that the woman was doing and to her that was rather accurate because she was rather unsure as to what exactly the older woman was doing but despite this, she felt comforted by the touch so she did not move away from it.
"Does that sound like a good idea?", Jen questioned as she tilted her head slightly and watched the girl patiently.
Sarah nodded and she found herself smiling at the idea of not being an Officer anymore, not having to do the things she hated, and of the idea of being away from all of that horror.
A/N: For some reason this story is hard to write, my brain is just not cooperating with it at all. Apologies.
