I'm running out of things to say before chapters… Hope you enjoy it! And such.
Chapter 5:
As they drove back to the hospital, Eli took in the sight of his wonderful daughter. She looked more comfortable in his presence than she had been in years. "I was planning to come visit in the coming month," Eli said conversationally as Ziva sped through the streets like usual. "We had been apart too long, nearly two years."
Ziva wondered if that was supposed to come across as an accusation. "We did not part on the best of terms," she pointed out reservedly.
Eli looked down, remembering his last trip to America. "I had hoped that this visit would help repair the damage I have caused to our relationship in the past," he admitted.
"Repair the damage?" Ziva asked to clarify, her mind mentally battling over whether or not to believe him. Was he seeking forgiveness? Was forgiveness even possible, with what he had done in the past?
"I am getting old, Ziva," he mused with a sigh, "I cannot be director of Mossad forever."
"What are you saying?" Ziva asked, trying to get to the point of the conversation.
Eli sighed again. Ziva was going to make him say it out loud, though words such as these did not come easily to him. "I do not want us to become estranged, my Ziva," he confessed. "I wish to be a part of your life. I want to know the love of a child again," Eli chuckled, "to have grandchildren to spoil," he added.
Ziva cleared her throat, unsure of how to respond. All of this sounded great in theory, but would he follow through with his goals, or let her down again like he had all her life? That remained to be seen.
Before she could respond to her father's comments, they arrived at the hospital yet again and made their way inside. Ziva shot suspicious, yet hopeful, glances at her father as they walked quietly through the building and back to Tony's hospital room.
"Hey Zee-vah," Tony sing-songed as she entered the room. He was in surprisingly good spirits considering he was shot only a day ago. Luckily, the bullet hadn't nicked any important organs or arteries, so the recovery would be much quicker. It also helped that he was in a very good mood, following his most recent conversation with Eli. "Did you bring my—oh." His gaze landed on Eli who had entered the room behind Ziva.
With a meaningful glance, Tony asked Ziva if she had spoken to her father. She replied with a simple nod, and they went on with their business, Tony checking the bag to make sure she hadn't missed any movies from the list.
Ziva was about to put a James Bond movie into the DVD player for Tony when McGee walked in carrying a box, which seemed to be quite heavy. "Hey guys," he said, his gaze landing on Tony in the hospital bed. "I found something interesting that might help kill time while you're stuck in here." With that, he dropped the box to the floor with a thunk. Tony managed to sit himself forward a little more to get a better look, and Ziva abandoned the DVD on a nearby table to come see what McGee had brought.
"Old undercover stuff?" Tony asked, his brow furrowed.
McGee nodded, rummaging through the box. "Spring cleaning at NCIS, I guess," he mused as he pulled out the red bellhop uniform he had worn 7 years ago.
Ziva chuckled, lifting a skimpy, green dress from the box and sharing a meaningful look with Tony. Eli raised an eyebrow at that but did not say a word.
"Oh, look at that," Tony said, spotting a very interesting picture beneath some other items. McGee grabbed the photograph and handed it to Tony before Ziva could see what it was. Tony gazed at it for a moment, a smile on his face. "You look good pregnant, Zee-vah," he said with a coy look in his eye. He eyed her up and down before she snatched the picture from his hand, a blush running across her face.
Eli's attention had been captured and he took a step toward the three agents to get a better look. He reached down and pulled the picture from Ziva's hand, a smile running across his face when he saw what it was.
"That…was an undercover assignment," Ziva explained hastily, attempting to grab the picture back.
"You are smiling," Eli pointed out, keeping the photo just far enough away so that Ziva could not reach it.
"Yes," Ziva answered, her face red with embarrassment. At last, she succeeded in obtaining the picture. "Like I said…undercover."
Eli chuckled. He hoped that one day he would be able to see the same joy on Ziva's face, but for real this time. He could tell she hoped so too, though she tried to hide it. Little glances between her and Tony did not go unnoticed by Gibbs and Eli.
As Tony and McGee continued to look through the box of items, Gibbs ushered Eli and Ziva to the hallway to talk. They were in the middle of a case, after all. One that threatened international relations. It was time sensitive.
"We got in touch with Kazmi," Gibbs began, speaking directly to Eli.
"Arash?" Ziva asked, confusion playing on her face.
Eli nodded. Ziva was familiar with the man. He was an important figure in Iran, and it had been Ziva's job to know the names and faces of such men during her time at Mossad. Besides that, he had been Eli's close friend from a young age, growing up on opposite sides of an olive grove. She had heard stories of him since she was a little girl.
"What does Arash Kazmi have to do with any of this?" Ziva asked, turning to her father.
Eli sighed and turned his eyes away from Ziva, choosing to search the blank walls instead of her face. Gibbs seemed to have taken a step back from the conversation. He had been under the impression that Eli would fill Ziva in on the case and his diplomatic plans as soon as possible, but obviously he had not.
"Kazmi and I had made plans to meet here in DC in the coming week, to discuss peace between our nations," Eli explained, his voice low and accented.
The look of betrayal on Ziva's face was hard to miss. "You said you were coming to see me, to make amends," Ziva said incredulously, backing away from her father.
Eli sighed again in exasperation. His Ziva was a firecracker, always full of energy in an argument when he was not. "You do not understand, Ziva. Something must be done to repair the broken relationship between Israel and Iran."
"What about OUR broken relationship?" Ziva shouted, drawing stares from the nursing staff. The seconds that followed were silent. Gibbs merely stood out of their way.
"It is as the Americans say," Eli said quietly, in an attempt to pacify his daughter, "killing two bears with one stone."
"Birds," Ziva corrected automatically, causing Gibbs to smirk.
Eli stepped closer to Ziva with caution, even daring to place his hand on her arm. "You must believe me. My mission was peace for Israel, yes, but I also had hoped to spend time with you." His usually stone-cold eyes begged Ziva to understand.
Ziva nodded firmly before changing the subject. "So this…trip…was the reason Bodnar attacked?"
"We believe so," Eli confirmed, grateful to have moved on from the difficult conversation.
Gibbs stepped back in, ready to share his information pertinent to the case. "Abby has been searching for Ilan's brother—"
"Yaniv," Ziva finished, familiar with the man.
"We think he may be headed to the U.S., possibly to finish what his brother started." Gibbs handed Ziva a file with some of the information McGee and Abby had been able to dig up earlier.
"The FBI has a 24/7 security detail lined up for your father and anyone else that might be in danger," Agent Fornell said, joining the conversation with a fresh cup of coffee. "That includes you, Miss David."
"And I suspect Agent DiNozzo as well," Eli added, "considering his role in the death of Ilan."
Ziva nodded. As much as she hated sitting on the sidelines—especially when the threat was upon her family—one glance at Tony in that hospital bed told her where she needed to be… and that was by his side. If she could do nothing else, she could keep him company and protect him until he heals up.
As if on cue, the sound of Tony whining carried through the open doorway. "Zeevahhhh," he called, pretending to ring a bell to summon her. Ziva attempted to hide her smile by looking at the ground. Gibbs smirked and shared a look with Eli, who had become much more agreeable since nearly being assassinated.
"What, Tony?" Ziva asked in feigned annoyance, turning to enter the room.
"I wanna watch the movie," Tony said in an exaggerated whiny voice, pointing at the DVD which Ziva had left lying on the table by the TV. McGee had apparently left during their conversation in the hall, the box of undercover stuff with him.
"Alright, alright," Ziva conceded, smiling as she placed the disc into the DVD player before sitting down in the firm chair next to Tony's bed.
The movie started up, but Tony wasn't looking at the screen. Instead, his eyes were settled on Ziva, who kept shifting uncomfortably in the chair trying to find a decent position. Ziva's eyes met his and she froze, a small, apologetic smile making its way across her face.
Tony grinned and patted the space next to him on his bed, beckoning her to join him. Ziva rolled her eyes but obeyed, sliding under the covers on the much-too-small bed.
"It's a little cramped," she said, trying not to smoosh Tony or push him off the bed.
"I can live with that," Tony responded with his trademark grin, eyes locked on Ziva's.
Ziva placed a kiss on his lips and lightly smacked his cheek. "Come on, movie's starting."
Well, we got some good father-daughter talk, some Tiva goodness, and the inevitable disappointment of Eli again. It wasn't so bad, though. Please leave a review and let me know what you thought of all this.
If you couldn't tell, I've replaced Shabbat Shalom, so I wanted to include some of the cute moments from that episode (hence the box of undercover stuff).
Only one chapter left. I don't like spending too much time on cases when that's not the focus of the story, but we'll wrap that up too.
Thanks for reading!
~NCIS Obsession