They mutually decided that it would be best to get some sleep and tell their teammates in the morning. Tim was used to sleeping at work; he was out like a light, comically draped in Abby's chair. Ellie was lying on a blanket on the floor, thinking.

If Ziva didn't want to be found, then she wouldn't be found. It was that simple. What wasn't simple was Tali. That changed everything. Ziva would want to be found if it meant reuniting with her daughter, but she would want to eliminate the threat to her daughter's life first. She wouldn't take kindly to anyone, not even Tony, finding her and stopping her before she accomplished her mission.

She wouldn't take kindly to anyone she knew finding her, not if they wanted to prevent her from killing Liat. But Ziva didn't know Ellie, and Ellie had no interest in stopping her – only helping her and bringing her home when she was done.

Ellie knew it was a stupid idea. She knew that Ziva would likely kill her, or at least disable her, on sight. But she also knew that Tim was right – she might be able to find Ziva because she didn't know her as well. Tim, Tony, Gibbs, they were all too close. Ellie was not. And she wasn't about to let Tony go after her, not when he had Tali to think of. Tali had to be left with at least one of her parents.

Tony had Tali. Tim had Delilah. Gibbs had Mike's daughter and granddaughter. They were all necessary to the lives of other people. But Ellie? She wasn't necessary to anyone's life. She was expendable. And she would use that knowledge here, to help Ziva and bring her home.

That small part of her, the part that was always analyzing herself, was putting up red flag after red flag in her head. It was saying that this was a suicide mission, impossible to achieve, one that she never would have considered if she was still married to Jake. She ignored that small part and focused on more important things. How was she going to get to Madrid?

Two hours later, she was on a plane, armed with nothing but her gun and her wits.


Oh boy. Thanks to everyone for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! I'm glad you all see some sense in my story and are enjoying it. :)