As always, thanks to JSQ and Cindy

Following Orders.

Whatever name you call him – Director, Father, Eli – his orders carry much responsibility. They are not to be taken lightly. They must completed by any means necessary.

There are few people in the world that I despise; Eli David takes the top spot.

Next on that list, Mossad Officer Malachi Ben-Gidon.

So, when I hear McGee mention that the one and only Ben Gidon is here, it raises my blood pressure; my brain kicks into overdrive and I immediately get the Boss Man

He is following orders from Eli David. I mean, seriously, he was her Command Officer – he let her go off on her own in fucking Somalia. Both he and her fucking bastard father knew where she was, who she was with and most likely, what was happening to her for three months. . ..

It never really goes away. It happens so fast. You go back to a place you vowed to never go again. The smell of sweat and body odor, the dry sand, the cigarette smoke. The discomfort of keeping your arms in an upright position. The darkness filtering through the window and enveloping the entire room. The darkness that keeps you awake at night. The darkness that latches onto your body.

There was a part of me that thought I would not make it out alive. Sometimes when I close my eyes, I'm back there; tied to that chair, waiting for the opportunity to give the 'go ahead' and have a bullet rid the world of yet another terrorist. Ziva was stuck in that fucking place for three months. She wasn't supposed to live through it. I wonder if Ziva gets the flash of memories before her eyes, transporting her back to place she didn''t want to be. She was just following orders. She was gone. She is gone, well a part of her is.

But the best parts. . .they are still here.

I'm lying in bed, uncomfortably for some reason, trying to fall asleep. So, of course my phone would ring. I sigh, this late at night usually means a case; something that can't wait until the morning. I can't ignore it. Rule number three.

The phone continues to ring. I look at the caller ID. Ziva cell.

"Uhhh, yeah?" I try to sound a little sleepy, but I don't think I'm fooling anyone.

"I hope I am not disturbing you."

"You know what time it is, right?"

"Of course, I know what time it is. Why does that matter?

"Some people are trying to sleep"

"Well, I did ask if I was disturbing you."

"What's going on, Zee-vah?"

"Nothing. Sleep does not come easy for me. I just wanted to hear a familiar voice. . ."

"Did you try counting sheep?"

"I do not own sheep."

"Nobody owns sheep. Unless you're a shepherd. It's a technique used with kids to get them to sleep."

"So you just lay there and count with no sheep?"

"Use your imagination, Ziva."

"Can the sheep be any color you want?"

"Yes. . . of course. They are your sheep."

"But you said I don't own them." She pauses.

"What are you watching?"

"You have to ask."

"So I know what channel to flock to?"

"It's flip. And it's on TNT.

"Ahhh, James Bond."

"But of course."

"Not a favorite, but I must watch it."

"Why?"

"Because, it's James Bond."

"That does not make sense."

"Yes, it does. Some franchises make some doozies but you have to take the good with the bad."

"Found it." I can hear Pierce Brosnan's distinctive tone echoing through the phone.

"He was Thomas Crown, too."

"Steve McQueen is Thomas Crown."

"They both were."

"Have I taught you nothing? When in doubt, always go with the original. . ..They don't make movies the way they used to. I'd take Faye Dunaway any day."

I get no retort. I whisper, "Ziva, you still there?" I hear her lightly snoring. I don't hang up the phone. I just listen to her.

I stand behind the glass and watch Gibbs' talk to Officer Ben-Gidon. Ziva stands in the corner, watching him, hoping for something.

Her CO is throwing her under the bus. Apparently, in Israel that's what you do when something gets fucked up. That is not the way to it goes here at NCIS. Even though her back is to me, I can picture the look on her face. A revelation. Her father sent Malachi to burn her, to feed her to wolves, to destroy her – again.

"Are you following orders?" A non-response indicates he is.

I hear the Boss Man tell Malachi to flee and warn him to stay away from Ziva.

I can't take my eyes off of her. She sits there so hurt by the one man who should have done everything to protect her. He has failed her. For the last time.

I have nothing to say to Officer Malachi Ben-Gidon as I escort him from the property. Are there things on my mind? Do I want to punch him? Do I want to get into his face and cut him with words? Yes, but I won't. Why? Because Ziva is safe here with us now. He failed.

At least for now, I know who will be doing my paperwork.

Probie.