Ok, so I struggled a lot with this chapter because there was on one hand Ziva with her emotions and then the therapeutic point of view on the other hand.
I nevertheless hope you like this chapter and I have to say that we're taking this one step at a time, alright?

"I'm sure you were mistaken," Yaicha says to her brush.

My ears pin back -

"MISTAKEN?

I know who Angie is, Yaicha.

I know who our father is, Yaicha.

He hurts people, he hurts you, you never do anything!" My claws scrape the wall paint.

She turns with soft rabbit eyes. "He'll kill me."

"He's already doing that!"

I am growling, grabbing her sleeve, "Every day, every day he rips you open,

chips off pieces week by week, till a few years from now you are not even a mouthful of sawdust.

A drawn-out killing.

Well, I'm tired of all of us doing nothing. He has to be stopped."

Yaicha's eyes have flinched a few times but soften again. "Nobody can stop him."

My teeth show.

"Nobody can stop him? Good.

To him I have always been

Nobody."

― Thalia Chaltas

"How are you feeling today, Ziva?" This time both Ziva and Tony sat in Dr. Parkers office after a rather restless night.
"I feel…exhausted." Ziva replied reluctant and slightly turned her head to look at Tony.
Dr. Parker noticed that there was more to it and dug deeper.
"Is there a specific reason for it? Did anything happen in the past two days?" Her voice was inquiring but nevertheless it didn't lack empathy and contained a warm tone.
Ziva however suddenly found herself unable to answer the question and looked down at her hands instead.

Only seconds later Tony tenderly cradled one of her hands in his and squeezed it reassuringly.
At this she looked up at him again at which her eyes gave away a pleading look.
"Actually yes." He now spoke up and began telling Dr. Parker about the past two days.
"She had some flashbacks and it seemingly became too much for her that's why she" He had to take a deep breath before continuing. "She threw up yesterday around lunchtime." A look of uncertainty crossed his face and he waited for an answer from Dr. Parker.

"Does this happen a lot?" By now she was concentrating on Ziva again even though she knew that it was a rather unpleasant subject for her to talk about.
"Sometimes." Ziva finally started talking. "I do not understand why I do this. It just…happens." Her expression was mirroring insecurity and her therapist did her best to soothe her.

"I know that this is hard to understand Ziva, but it's nothing unusual after all you've been through. Can you tell me how you feel before you have the urge to throw up?" She knew it was important for her to talk about her feelings and so she brought herself to start telling her about what was going on inside of her even though she barely understood it herself.

"Sometimes I remember things about my sister and how I tried to protect her and then I feel so helpless." Her voice began to break away the more she told them about her past.
"I tried to protect her, but it was never enough. I…was never enough." By now silent tears streamed down her cheeks and steadily fell down onto her neckline.

It was difficult for Tony to see her like this and in an attempt to comfort her he gently ushered her towards him and pulled her into a tight hug.
He sensed that she was inwardly falling apart and hoped that his steady arms around her fragile form could somehow make her whole again.

After a few moments her breathing started evening out again and she slowly went to sit down again before wiping away the last trails of tears from her face.
"I guess your father was abusive when it came to you and your sister?" Dr. Parker waited for her to confirm or deny it and when Ziva nodded slightly continued speaking.

"Listen to me Ziva. Nobody could demand from you to be able to protect your sister. You were still a child yourself and whatever your father did to you, both of you, wasn't your fault, you need to understand that." She now tried to assure her, hoping she would take it to heart.
"She was just so innocent. I wanted her to be able to keep that innocence but some day…the light in her eyes was gone. Simply gone." Ziva started to drift off again as her mind brought up pictures of Tali and how she had looked at her one day. Sad, and somehow also empty.

"Sometimes we aren't able to prevent things and I think it's important to find closure in all of this even though it means that there is still a lot to talk about." Again Ziva nodded and began fidgeting with her fingers in order to remain calm.

"Now I want you to do something Ziva. Whenever you feel the urge to throw up, whenever something overwhelms you I want you to try to find something else to do instead. Do something that calms you and relaxes you. Something that occupies your mind in a positive way, ok?" For a moment Ziva seemed to think about Dr. Parker's words.

"I will try it, but I don't quite know what I could do." She replied honestly and she knew that it would be a difficult task for her.
"Maybe Tony can help you to find something that calms you down. You should try to voice those feelings whenever they come up, it's important for your recovery." To ease the situation she shot her a small smile and waited a moment until Ziva had sorted her thoughts once more.

"Ok. Thank you Dr. Parker." With that their conversation was over and Ziva felt partly relieved and emotionally drained at the same time.
They both knew that it would take her some time to process everything they talked about but Tony was confident that they would get through this as well.
They would take one step at a time, because really, this was the only way they could go.

Don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter!