Monday

Chapter 19

Gibbs steps off the elevator onto the third floor of NCIS Headquarters. With a coffee cup in hand, he walks into the bullpen. McGee glances upward from behind his desk. Tony isn't at work as he has taken the week off from work. Ziva hasn't arrived yet. Gibbs places the coffee on his desk and turns around. McGee quickly puts his head down and pretends to work.

"If there's something you want to say or ask just..." Gibbs begins to say.

"How come you look so terrible? What on earth happened in North Korea?" McGee wondered.

"If you let me finished what I was going to say you would've heard me tell you to keep it to yourself."

"Right Boss."

Gibbs notices Ziva step off the elevator. Their eyes meet as Ziva freezes. Gibbs sees the concern, worry and fear in her eyes. He finally sits down. Ziva is now unable to see Gibbs, but she's still frozen in her place. After a couple seconds Ziva takes a deep breath and continues walking. As Ziva enters into the bullpen, McGee stands up and walks away because he has to bring something down to Abby. This leaves Ziva and Gibbs to talk privately. She approaches the front of Gibbs' desk.

"I don't know how to make this better." Ziva said. She places her gun and badge in the middle of Gibbs' desk. "I'm going back to Israel. My flight leaves three hours. Here's my flight info." She places the flight information on the desk. "I know what you probably think of me right now…"

"You know nothing of what I think of you at this moment." Gibbs said.

"Do you want to talk about…"

"No I don't, Ziva."

"Then I'll go." Ziva said. "For what it's worth… I'm glad the three of you are safe." There's a brief pause. "Goodbye, Gibbs."

Ziva turns around and walks away. Gibbs extends his hand toward the items on his desk. He picks up Ziva's badge and stares at it.

Gibbs is left to decide Ziva's fate. In Gibbs' mind, he wants to understand the entire situation, but at the same he doesn't. Not everything makes sense to him. He ponders whether or not he should arrest her or let her go.

Almost three hours pass.

Gibbs looks at the flight information. He picks up the phone and dials the security office at Dulles International Airport.

"This is Special Agent Gibbs… I need you to detain a passenger named Ziva David. Her flight information is…" Gibbs continues speaking with airport security by giving them the information they need about Ziva's flight. He also faxes a photo of Ziva for identification purposes.

After hanging up the phone, Gibbs quickly grabs his gear and runs to the elevator. Once in a car, Gibbs leaves the Navy Yard and speeds all the way to Dulles International Airport.

Ziva is sitting in an interrogation type room at Dulles International Airport. There's no two-way mirror. It's just a room with a table and two chairs. Ziva sits there with handcuffs around her wrists. Her heart beat increases with every minute that passes as she waits patiently for Gibbs who she knows is the only person who would've given the request for her to be detained. Ziva knows her fate lies in Gibbs' judgment.

Gibbs finally enters into the room. The door is closed. Ziva looks downward at the table as she feels she can't even look Gibbs in the eye. Gibbs and Ziva are all alone in the room. He sits across from her.

"Before I met Jenny I was the leader of an elite team of highly trained assassins…" Ziva begins to explain her story. "We performed jobs; assassinations for Mossad. When there was an assassination job which required a team effort… We were the ones to perform the deed and did so flawlessly, with absolute perfection. When a particular person was marked for assassination… We always got the job done without being seen or heard. We were in and out before anybody knew anything. There was no security system we couldn't bypass. We were an unstoppable force." She briefly paused and looks up at Gibbs. She looks down again and continues her story. "One day… A man hired us to do a job. The mark was made. But we were deceived. Our own training of being able to tell truth from lie was used to mislead us. The marks were eight people; two four person teams. One team was in Madrid, Spain and the second was in Paris, France. We neutralized the Madrid team first and the Paris team second. After we neutralized the Paris team…" She paused for a couple seconds as she recalls the incident. "That's when Amir noticed something on a table. He opened it. Who we were misled to be arms dealers were NCIS agents. They were NCIS… The very organization Mossad was trying to establish relations with at the time. We assassinated eight NCIS agents without even knowing until it was too late. Our elite team of highly trained assassins almost completely destroyed any possibly of NCIS and Mossad working closely with each other. My father made sure to destroy all record of me having ties to the death squad… To my friends… My family. They became fugitives from NCIS and Mossad. But I wasn't because of my father. All evidence to tie me to the death squad vanished without a trace. I was the only one to not suffer. Yet I suffered every single day with the knowledge of knowing what we did." She paused to take a deep breath. "I contacted the guys. We decided to seek revenge against the man who set us up. Our hearts were blackened with vengeance. There was only one way to satisfy the yearning in our hearts. We vowed to kill the man who killed us. We saw ourselves as being dead because we all lost a piece of ourselves because of the incident. Our lives were shattered. For his betrayal he had to die. The man was one of the most powerful and influential men in all of Israel. But it didn't stop us. We invaded his mansion. We bypassed every security feature like it never existed. It was so easy for us. Every threat at the mansion was neutralized. The last remaining target was him. He begged for his life. He said he would set things straight with NCIS and Mossad if we just let him live. But his proposal was to find scapegoats; to put the blame on another group of people. He had the resources to make it all go away by placing the blame elsewhere. We couldn't allow it. There was no way he would take the fall. So I did the only logical thing. I placed a knife to throat. I slit his throat without hesitation and without mercy. After the home invasion we parted ways. The guys separated by going anywhere they could go. As for me…" Ziva's eyes begin to get watery. She tries to hold the emotions back. "I'm the only one who went back to a normal life. Even though we got our revenge… I still felt dead inside. I met Jenny a couple weeks after we invaded the mansion. In my heart I wanted to make a mends for what I did. So I developed a working relationship with Jenny which eventually led me here. I thought working with NCIS would allow me to forgive myself…"

"It's time to go, Ziva." Gibbs said.

The two of them stand. Gibbs walks around the table. He grabs the handcuffs which are still around Ziva's wrists. Gibbs escorts the handcuffed Ziva out of the room. They walk out of the security area. As they walk through the airport, some people can't help but look in their direction since they can tell the lady, Ziva, is in handcuffs. They exit the airport and are now in the parking lot walking to the car.

"While in North Korea the guys asked me to come with them." Ziva stated.

"Why didn't you go with them?" Gibbs wondered.

"I tried my hardest to escape that life. I couldn't go with them. They'll always be my brothers. But I've come to realize you guys… You, Jenny, Tony, McGee, Ducky, Abby and Jamie are my family now. There's nothing I wouldn't do to rescue my family. Even if that means revealing my darkest secret in order to do so. I've learned to be human again because of you guys. I may have a rough exterior, Gibbs, but things change. You've become a little soft ever since Jamie came into the picture. And I'll be the first to admit… I've become a little soft too but not because of Jamie. It's because of all of you as a whole. I mean… When Tony and Jamie got married I made them a wedding album with all their wedding photos. I would never normally do that, Gibbs. I'm not a wedding album type of person." Ziva said. "I actually feel good about myself. But I guess it doesn't matter now. Once again I've lost another family."

They approach the car. While standing at the passenger side, Gibbs unlocks the handcuffs.

"I'm the only person who knows of your ties to the death squad. Your secret is safe with me." Gibbs stated. "But if anybody ever finds out about your connection to them… I won't be able to save you."

Gibbs walks away in order to go to the other side of the car. He gets into the car. Ziva is left standing at the passenger door. After a couple seconds she finally opens the door and gets in. The engine is started.

"Unfortunately, NCIS and Mossad don't care for an explanation, even the explanation of the incident occurring due to being mislead." Gibbs stated. "Someone must pay. You and your team are still responsible for the murders of those eight agents, even with it being what it is. Their blood is on your hands and you have to live with that for the rest of your life. But after what you told me… I don't feel you should be held accountable. The guilt is enough of a burden." He paused for a couple seconds. Gibbs looks to Ziva. They look each other in the eyes. "You said you lost a piece of yourself after the incident. Even if you don't believe it, I think you regained that piece and a whole lot more."

Ziva cracks a smile as what Gibbs said actually makes her feel better about the whole thing. In Ziva's mind, she knows Gibbs trusts her and wants her to remain a part of the team. She knows Gibbs also thinks of the team as family, though he may not say it or even admit it to himself most of the time. Ziva's heart is touched; she feels like she belongs, that she has a home with NCIS.

Hours later, close to dusk, Ziva knocks on a door. The door opens. On the other is Jamie.

"Ziva…" Jamie greeted her with a smile. She moves to the side. "Come in." Jamie invites her into their home. Ziva walks into the apartment. The door closes.

"I just came by to see how things are." Ziva said. The two of them walk further into the apartment. Ziva feels slightly uncomfortable like she's intruding.

"Hi Ziva!" Tony exclaimed.

"Tony's been relaxing on the couch since yesterday."

"I'm in pain!"

"Do you need more pain medicine, Babe?" Jamie wondered.

"I got a couple over here on the table." Tony said. "You should stay for dinner, Ziva."

"Nah… I don't want to intrude." Ziva said.

"You're always welcome in our home, Ziva." Jamie stated. Chioke exits from the bathroom. A smile stretches across his face as he sees Ziva. Chioke runs to her. Ziva lifts him in her arms. Chioke starts moving his hands.

'Stay for dinner.' Chioke signed with his hands. 'We make spaghetti.'

"He wants you to stay for dinner. We're having spaghetti." Jamie stated.

"Alright… I'll stay for dinner." Ziva said. Chioke gets excited and gives Ziva a hug. He leans back a bit.

'Want help us make dinner?' Chioke signed.

"He wants to know if you'd like to help us make dinner." Jamie said.

"I'd love to." Ziva said with a smile.

Ziva sets Chioke down on the floor. The three of them walk enter into the kitchen and begin to prepare dinner. Jamie handles starting the spaghetti. Ziva handles taking care of the salad. And Chioke sets the table. Tony remains on the couch in the family room. As Ziva is in the kitchen helping Jamie and Chioke to make dinner, her heart is touched; she feels a sense of belonging to a family, that she has a home with the people of NCIS.

THE END

This concludes the story "For the Love of a Child". Coming soon will be the next story in this series. But until then, I hope you enjoyed this story.