Disclaimer: Well, I know what happens on American screens, so all I can say is thank god for that :D Pity I have to wait till next year to see it. If NCIS was mine, it would be fast tracked to Aussie screens like a dozen of other shows on ten and seven, but it's not so I'm not gonna get my wish :(
A/N Sorry about the late update. I've been busy. It's holidays now so it should be easier to find time to write. Also, be on the look out for my three upcoming fics: Drowning On Dry Land, Iced In and Tower of Strength. Summaries can be found in my profile. Thanks always to by Beta, Kandon Kuuson :D
'The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.' - Thomas Jefferson
Chapter Thirteen: Remembering the Good
Present Time – Reflection
Ziva closed her eyes tightly and sighed as she watched her younger self and Adena carry Jenny up the stairs. This was a period in her lifetime she'd rather forget.
'I should never have let that happen,' Ziva thought. 'I should have been on guard. Jen should have never been in that position . . . I should have never been in that position."
"Zee," Tali whispered, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. Ziva's eyes shot open. "It wasn't your fault. How could it be? You were wounded . . . and in hospital."
Ziva looked at Tali blankly. "I know that."
"Do you?" Tali replied, looking intently at her sister. "C'mon, Zee, I wasn't your sister for sixteen years for nothing, you know. I can tell."
"How can you tell?" Ziva snapped harshly. "You'd been dead for three years by that time."
Tali turned away, looked at the floor and started to twirl her fringe around her finger. This, as Ziva knew all to well, was Tali's painstakingly obvious sign that she had been hurt by her comment.
Ziva sighed. "Look . . . Tal . . . I'm sorry, okay. I didn't mean it like that, it was a . . . snip – no – lick – no – snake – no . . . something to do with the tongue, yes?"
"Slip of the tongue?" Roy supplied with a smile.
"Yes, that," Ziva said gratefully, pointing at him, a gesture that endeared her to Tony, "thank you. It was a slip of the tongue, Tal."
Tali looked up. "Yeah, you were always talking before thinking," she said with a small smile, but then her smile faded. "I have been keeping tabs on you, you know. We're not completely isolated here. I know Roy looks out for you . . . and Kate for her team."
"Really?" Ziva questioned, looking into the eyes of the man that had crept into her heart during those few days at the hospital.
"Oh, yeah," Roy answered for Tali. "You're always hearing stories about family members seeing dead loved ones in their time of need. How do you think they get there?"
"I didn't know that," Ziva stated.
"Well, obviously," Kate replied, "you're not dead."
"Thank goodness for that," Ziva muttered under her breath and glared at Kate. Then she spoke up. "It's only for family members, yes?"
"Not all the time," Roy answered, "but mostly. It's who most people feel closest too."
Ziva snorted. "Oh, yeah, because everyone is close to their families."
"Ziva . . ."
Ziva ignored Roy and continued. "Let's take my family for example. Two out of three kids are dead, two out of two wives are dead and the one father is more concerned about his job than his remaining family. One was a terrorist, one was killed in a bombing, one died in child birth, and one was a traitor," Ziva repeated for effect. "That doesn't exactly paint a perfect photo."
"Picture, Ziva," Roy corrected automatically. It reminded Ziva of Tony, he was always correcting her English mistakes.
'I wonder if he's worried?' She let her mind wander. 'Nah, he's probably still kicking . . . no . . . ticking . . . that's it . . . ticking off Gibbs.'
A hand on her shoulder jerked Ziva back into reality.
"We're not all that bad, Zee," Tali said softly. "I can't help it that some maniac decided to blow himself up in that restaurant."
"I didn't mean you were bad, Tal," Ziva amended. "You were probably the best out of all of us."
"That's not true. You're pretty okay yourself," Tali replied quickly.
"I guess two out of three is okay then," Ziva finished.
"Ari was a good person too, Zee," Tali pointed out, hoping that Ziva and Kate would not go off at her.
Kate snorted. "I'm sure he was." Roy shot her a look that said, 'be quiet'.
"Was, Tali, was," Ziva emphasised strongly. "You didn't know him how I knew him in his final few years. Your image of him is still the charming older brother. He was a bastard in every sense of the word."
"He was a good brother," Tali said defiantly. "We were once a good family."
"Yeah, long ago, Tal, long ago."
Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, January 1988
"I want chocolate, daddy!" four-year-old Tali exclaimed excitedly as she looked at the different flavours displayed in the ice-cream parlour. "With sprinkles and chocolate sauce and sprinkles."
"It seems Princess Tali has spoken," nineteen-year-old Ari smiled as he picked up his younger sister. He twirled her around before she snuggled up in his arms.
"I want strawberry, dad," nine-year-old Ziva added. "In a cone, please."
"Son, what would you like?" Aharon David asked his son before heading over to the counter to order.
"Ri-Ri wants rainbow," Tali replied, using her nickname for him, before Ari could open his mouth. She smiled innocently at her father and her brother.
"I guess Ri-Ri wants rainbow," Ari repeated, tickling Tali on the tummy. She giggled and squirmed in his grip. "Who's my little tickle monster?"
"Me, me, me!" Tali giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"And who's my munchkin?" Ari continued, looking at his other younger sister.
"I suppose that would be me." Ziva rolled her eyes. "I'm nine years old. Don't you think that's a bit old for munchkins?"
"You know you love it," Ari smiled. "It is our favourite movie after all."
"It's a baby movie," Ziva retorted.
"Then I guess I'm just a big baby," Ari replied, tickling Tali again.
"No, I'm the baby," Tali amended.
"Yeah, it's not like you ever let us forget it," Ziva replied, a smile gracing her face.
"I'm the baby, I'm the baby, I'm the baby," Tali chanted, wriggling in Ari's arms.
"That you are, my little one," Aharon said as he kissed the top of Tali's head and handed her a cone with chocolate ice cream.
"Thank you, daddy," Tali said sweetly before proceeding the lick the chocolate blob.
Aharon handed the two other cones to his two other children before guiding them out of the ice-cream parlour.
After finishing their ice creams, the family made its way onto Bondi beach. Tali looked around in awe; this was better than she had expected.
"Shoes off, Zee-Zee," Tali announced as she indicated for Ari to put her down.
Ari placed the little girl on the sand and she immediately tugged her older sister's hand. Caught off guard, Ziva tumbled into the sand, bringing Tali with her. Ari looked at his sisters for a moment before he started laughing.
"Not funny, Ari," Ziva said grumpily, but a smile betrayed her voice. She turned to Tali. "You know what, Tal, I think Ari should join us!"
Both sisters grabbed Ari's legs and pulled on them until Ari also joined them in the sand, making a large thumping noise as he fell. Aharon looked at his children covered in sand and laughed.
"Don't think you can get away so easily, old man," Ari said as he sat up and grabbed his father's hand. Aharon David came tumbling into the sand, just as the three others had. Aharon looked up and saw the smiling faces of his three children.
"Daddy!" Tali exclaimed and clambered into his lap. "Me and Zee-Zee are gonna make a sandcastle."
"We are?" This was the first Ziva had heard of this.
"Yes," Tali replied confidently, "and I'm going to be the beautiful princess who lives in a gigantic castle and has a pet Llama." Both Ari and Aharon had to stifle their laughter.
"You can be the other princess," Tali told Ziva. Ziva looked horrified.
"I am not being a princess," Ziva said firmly. "I am going to be a brave soldier."
"But soldiers are men," Tali pointed out innocently, "girls are princesses."
"There are so too girl soldiers," Ziva argued determinately. She turned to her father. "Tell her, daddy. There are female soldiers, yes?"
"Of course there are," Aharon reassured Ziva. "There are both men and women soldiers."
"See, Tali," Ziva said to Tali and stuck out her tongue. "I'm gonna be a solider."
"But . . ." Tali tried again.
"Let your sister be a solider, little one," Aharon said smoothly. "I'll be your other princess."
Ari snorted at this suggestion.
"No," Tali said, shaking her head, "daddies are the kings. Daddy is the king, I'm the princess, Zee-Zee is the . . . solider and Ari is the bad guy."
"Why am I the bad guy," Ari pouted.
"Because I said so," Tali responded with an innocent smile. "Let's make a castle, Zee-Zee."
Ziva sighed, but began to mirror her younger sister's actions.
"Look, daddy, we finished!" Tali exclaimed excitedly a couple of hours later. "It has a moat and everything." Tali gestured to the sandcastle, a look of pride on her face.
"It's lovely, Tali," Aharon replied. "Fit for a princess."
"And a king," Tali added.
"Yes, and a king too," Aharon amended.
"What about the solider?" Ziva whined. "I helped too."
"You have to go kill Ari," Tali said slowly. "That's what soldiers do."
Ziva look aghast. "I'm not gonna kill him."
"Pretend killing, Zee-Zee," Tali said as if she was talking to a four year old and not her older sister. "It's not real."
"Come and try your best," Ari laughed, standing up. "Or I will take over the world."
"Not take over the world, silly," Tali corrected, "just the castle. Plus Zee-Zee is gonna kill you anyways. She's a soldier."
Ziva rolled her eyes. "Which I now regret." She turned to Ari and pointed her finger at him. "Bang, you're dead," she said unenthusiastically.
"No, no, no," Tali repeated, "that's not how it goes. Ri-Ri is meant to kidnap the beautiful princess and then the king is meant to tell the solider to go and rescue her. That is how it goes."
"That's a silly story," Ziva stated. "Why can't the princess rescue herself? She's not helpless."
"It just doesn't go like that," Tali argued. "The princess always gets saved by the solider . . . or the prince, but we don't have a prince so it has to be the solider."
Ziva turned away from her sister. "Dad, can I go swimming?"
"What about my game?" Tali whined.
"Daddy will play with you," Ziva told Tali. "I want to go swimming."
Aharon turned to Ari. "Son, take your sister swimming. I'll stay here with Tali and play her little game."
"I don't need an escort," Ziva mentioned defiantly. "I'm nine years old."
"Yes, you do," Aharon stated firmly. "Ari, go with her."
Ari nodded. "C'mon, munchkin, it'll be fun."
"Okay," Ziva replied, knowing she had been overruled. She pulled off her t-shirt before racing towards the water's edge.
"Ziva, wait up," Ari yelled as he followed his sister.
Ziva shrieked as Ari splashed her with the salty seawater. "What was that for?"
"I felt like it," was Ari's cheeky reply.
"Well . . ." Ziva started and proceeded to splash Ari back. However, she couldn't manage to splash as much water as Ari had. "Show me how to do it, Ari!"
Ari paddled over to where Ziva was and took her hands in his. He showed her how to cup her hands and make a spray of water appear.
"That's really cool!" Ziva exclaimed. It was funny what amused a nine year old. "Show me again."
Ari mimicked the hand action again and Ziva copied, making a copious amount of water splatter Ari.
"I did it!" Ziva announced happily, just as a large wave dumped itself over their heads.
Ari immediately grabbed for Ziva's hand, but missed it as he lost his bearings in the wave. Momentarily stunned by the wave, Ari gasped as he reached the surface. Scanning wildly for his sister, to his horror he could not see her anywhere.
"Ziva!" Ari yelled, spinning around in a circle. "Ziva, if this is a joke, it is not funny." There was no reply and Ziva did not appear. Ari cursed under his breath.
"No, Ziva, no," he said frantically before diving under the water.
It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the water, but once they did, he frantically looked and felt around him. He couldn't see or feel her anywhere. Gasping for the second time as he reached the surface for air, he looked around, hoping to find that she had appeared. She hadn't.
"Damn it, Zee!" he shouted before diving under again.
It still took his eyes a few seconds to adjust, but this time he managed to make out a shadowy figure about five metres away.
'Ziva!' he thought rapidly.
Reaching out and kicking wildly, he grabbed onto the shadow. He immediately recognised it as his sister's arm. Dragging both of them to the surface, it was the best sound in the world when he heard Ziva coughing up water.
"Ar . . .ri," she spluttered as Ari immediately headed towards the shore.
"Shhh, it's okay, munchkin," Ari said reassuringly, though he was shaking on the inside.
"Wave . . ." Ziva muttered weakly.
"It's okay," Ari repeated. "I've got you."
Reaching the shore, Ari picked up the still coughing Ziva and stumbled out of the ocean.
"Ari!" he heard his father yell and saw him racing towards the brother and sister, Tali at his heels.
"Ziva!" he exclaimed coming to a halt in front of his two eldest children. Tali started crying. Passing Ziva off to their father, Ari picked up Tali who buried her face in his shoulder, not caring that it was wet.
"Should we call an ambulance?" Ari suggested worriedly, looking at his sister.
"I'm okay," Ziva mumbled sleepily. "Ari saved me."