Ellie opened her eyes to three familiar faces.
"After you recover from being shot, I'm going to head slap you into the next century," Gibbs informed her.
"Okay," she mumbled. Tim gave her a cup of water and helped her sit up so she could drink. Tony supported her other side. "Where am I?"
"At a hospital in Madrid."
Her memory came flooding back. Figuring out where Ziva was. Flying to Spain. Finding Ziva. Fighting Liat. "Where's–"
"I'm right here." Ziva stepped into Ellie's view. She had a fresh bruise on her cheek, but was otherwise in one piece. "Everything is all right."
"Liat?"
"In custody. That was an excellent move, by the way."
Ellie smiled. "Thank you."
"She will be escorted back to Israel, where Malachi will convince Orli that she should be tried for treason." Ziva placed a careful hand on Ellie's shoulder. "Thank you, Ellie."
Ellie saw the other three watching them with interest. Gibbs looked resigned, like a father who had to constantly rein in his children. Tim looked happy. Tony looked... sad. "Tony?" Ellie asked.
"What is it, Bish?"
"What's wrong?"
He shrugged. "This is my fault," he said, trying to keep his voice light.
"Your fault?" Ziva punched him in the arm; he winced. "How is this your fault?"
"I walked away two years ago," he said. "There must have been a reason that you kept Tali from me. It must have been me. I should have stayed. Maybe then you wouldn't have had to go through this alone."
"I didn't go through it alone," she told him. "I had your – Ellie."
"My Ellie." He cracked a smile. "I guess she is ours, isn't she?"
"Of course she is," Tim said firmly.
"I only head slap my people," Gibbs put in. "This isn't your fault, Tony. It's not Ziva's fault, hell, it isn't even Eli's fault. It's Liat's fault, and only Liat's fault. I'm sure you and Ziva will have a lot of talking to do–"
"That's an understatement," Tony muttered under his breath.
"–but it's no one's fault but Liat's." He looked down at Ellie in the hospital bed. "You and I will have a lot of talking to do, too, Bishop."
"I know."
Gibbs patted her on the shoulder. "Rest up. We'll get you back home in no time." They filed out of the room, Ziva and Tim giving her one last smile before they closed the door behind them. Ellie rubbed the bandage on her side absently, thinking, Home. Isn't that what I was avoiding in the first place?
She knew that home would never be the same without Jake. But this insane adventure had shown her that home was what you made it.
She had a home with Gibbs, Tony, Tim, and maybe even Ziva. Ducky and Abby, certainly. Palmer, too. And hadn't she just proved that she was necessary to it?
All of a sudden, Ellie couldn't wait to go home.
And with that, we leave (most of) them in happiness. Thanks for going on this journey with me! Let me know what you think in the comments. What worked really well? What could I have improved? I'd love to hear your thoughts. :)
I'm working on another Ellie story, not necessarily in the same universe, but I've enjoyed getting inside her head and I want to do it again.
