Fighting the Darkness

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

And once again, a huge "thank you" to Zivacentric because she kept nudging me and hence she played a great part in completing this chapter! This butt-kicking thing really works! :-D Keep it up, my friend and THANK YOU!

Enjoy!

Chapter 12: On the Right Track

Ziva David Gibbs felt truly happy. She was in a place where she had never truly dared to imagine to ever be… not even when both Anwar and Ari had been there for her to make her believe…

She was lying in bed with her little girl's back pressed up against her front while her hand curled around her little waist. Her head was resting on her husband's arm who was lying on his back with Avigail's head buried into the crook of his neck and her little arm thrown over his chest.

Well, she and Gibbs did definitely not spend the night the way they had planned but Ziva wouldn't have changed a thing.

She could finally talk to Gibbs and he helped her put everything into perspective. She knew that she was still far away from the end of the road of acceptance and it was all too much possible that she would never get there… there were things that were just impossible to leave behind without any kind of remorse or self-reproach… but now she could really believe that even if she despised a part of her, there was and there would always be somebody to help her see the other part of her. There was somebody to love her unconditionally and accept her as she was…

And she got a second chance with her daughter… she'd got the opportunity to provide that kind of life for Avigail for which Ari had fought…

She sighed a little worried, though as she stroked her daughter's hair. Today she had to face Social Services and in spite of knowing that finally Avigail would stay with her… with them, she really didn't want to let them take her away even temporarily.

"They won't take her anywhere, Ziva." She was snapped out of her thoughts by her husband's voice.

She shifted a little so she could prop up her head on her hand then looked at Gibbs, who was already wide awake. She moved a little closer to kiss him good morning then looked at him with narrowed eyes trying to decipher his expression. It didn't really surprise her that he knew what she had been thinking about.

"You cannot know that." She told him with a serious expression. "They certainly will not leave her with us just because I tell them that I am her mother."

"Well, they won't take her away." Gibbs repeated himself.

"Why are you so sure?" Now Ziva had a strong suspicion that Gibbs had a hidden agenda.

"I talked to Vance." That was all he said.

"You talked to Vance? But when?"

"Well, I think after we scared the living shit out of McGee and after I managed to beat some sense into me."

Ziva didn't know what to say to that. Somehow she thought that Gibbs had spent the day being annoyed at her and consequently being annoying… but he managed to surprise her. And she felt bad about doubting him. After all that had happened and after she had walked out on him, he never stopped thinking about her. She shifted a little and kissed her husband… and she kissed him right.

"Thank you, my love." She told him and watched as an uncharacteristically huge grin appeared on Gibbs' face. "What?" She asked the man while a smile began to appear on her own lips.

"Nothing." Gibbs shook his head.

"Oh, no, mister. You are not wearing that idiotic Dinozzo grin just for nothing." She nudged him playfully.

"What? Can't a man be just happy?" He asked incredulously and actually laughed out loud when Ziva threw her arms around him.

And Avigail just kept sleeping on.

As Gibbs held her wife, practically squeezing the little girl between them, he wondered with a smile if her ability to sleep like a log was something she inherited from her mother…

The woman fidgeted anxiously as she waited in the queue in front of the movie theatre and her hand trembled slightly as she took her ticket. Her eyes were sweeping through the crowd, nervously, as she made her way into the room and took her seat. She was nervous because of so many reasons but among all of them one stood out. Ari. She hadn't seen him in months, since his best friend's death, and when they parted it wasn't exactly on friendly terms. He was so insistent on his friend's innocence and so persistent in blaming his father for everything that he couldn't hear a word she was trying to say to him.

She had loved him. She still loved him but that man she had seen back then wasn't her Ari. He was worried and full of rage… such a burning rage that it finally turned him against her, too, and that left her questioning the sanity of the man.

The movie theatre finally became dark and as the first shots of the movie began to roll, she could hear somebody taking the seat next to her.

"Rebecca." The man whispered and her breath got caught in her throat. She so loved that voice. She didn't want to look at him, though. She didn't want to see that stranger who still haunted her memories but she couldn't help her head turning to the left and when it did, she was taken aback by what she had seen. There, in the seat next to her, there was Ari sitting… her Ari. She reached out tentatively to put her hand on his face and when she touched his skin, he pressed her hand to his cheek and looked at her with love evident in his brown eyes. "I missed you, my love." Rebecca told him in a trembling voice.

"I need your help, Rebecca." The woman pulled back her hand somewhat disappointed but she held Ari's gaze waiting for the man to continue. "That baby Eli trusted on you… she is my niece… and I need to get her from Eli. And I need you to help me."

"What?" Rebecca asked not really understanding what Ari had just told her. "No. The Deputy Director told me that she is the daughter of a family who died in a terrorist attack." Rebecca could hear Ari scoff but she ignored him. "He was a close friend of the father and he wants the baby to grow up in safety. And how could she be your niece? That's just not possible, Ari."

"She is Ziva's daughter, Rebecca. And that bastard was no friend of Avigail's father. He had him killed. He made Ziva kill him. And now he took her from my sister." Now, that was the Ari she had left with a broken heart. That hatred and rage was back in his dark eyes and made them shine with something fearful… something dangerous.

"What are you talking about? You are making me scared, Ari."

"Here." Ari threw a folder into her lap. He sounded impatient and annoyed. "Here is your terrorist attack." Rebecca looked at him questioningly. "Go ahead, look into it. After that you can call me insane and keep on protecting the almighty Eli David." Slowly Rebecca opened the folder and it didn't take her long to realize what she was looking at. A written order from the Deputy Director of Mossad on an Israeli attack on Israeli soil.

"But that is impossible." She gasped in horror. There it was, in black and white. The man, who was like a father to her ever since she was a little girl, was indeed capable of all the things he had been accused of by his own son. She felt nauseous.

"Impossible? Yes." Ari, more like sensing than seeing the woman's change in demeanor, softened his voice. "But when could impossible ever stop Eli David? Rebecca, he is not the man you want to see in him. He is a cruel man… a monster. He had killed all those innocent people out there; it was not HAMAS. It was all him… it was not enough for him to kill Anwar, he wanted his daughter, too. His granddaughter, Rebecca. And I can assure you that he does not want her to play the proud grandfather."

"But what can I do?" She looked at Ari with tears shining in her eyes. She didn't know how to deal with this situation. She was always in the background… she was someone who was practically invisible… invaluable but invisible.

"Anything it takes. I have to get Ziva and the baby out of Israel. Ziva is broken, Rebecca. If she cannot leave this whole mess behind, I am afraid that she will die."

"Ari, this whole thing that you said… Ziva, Anwar… the baby… oh my God… their baby… that is so terrible… and I cannot believe that I have a part in this…" She wasn't just invisible. The world was only a shadow for her. She could rarely see outside her office and she really didn't want to. She wasn't some frail woman who couldn't face harsh reality. No, she had already faced it when she saw her family getting killed. But that was the only way for her to cope. And it worked so well… she did what she was asked to do and she didn't ask anything. But now, with her friends' lives lost and ruin, she felt a strange urge… she had to do something.

"You can help me make it right, my love." Ari cupped her cheek and Rebecca nodded resolutely.

Tony was throwing suspicious glances in his younger colleague's direction. Ever since Tony arrived, McGee was sitting in front of his computer grinning like an idiot. If Tony had wanted to be honest with himself, which he definitely didn't want to be, he would have said that McGee was looking exactly like him on a regular day.

He turned in his seat so that he was completely facing the younger man.

"Alright, McGee. What's up with you?" No reaction. Tony frowned then sighed and stood up. On his way to McGee's desk he patted Lora's head who was playing peacefully between the two desks, then he came to a stop just behind McGee. Still no reaction, so he took a look at the screen and almost instantly, he burst out laughing.

"Come on, Probie. ? Are you planning on making little McGeeks?" He shuddered at the thought.

"Tony." McGee turned to the other man annoyed. "Why it is so difficult for you to give me some space?"

"I don't know." Tony shrugged. "I like being in the same space as you, Probie. I really like the Probie-experience. It's really funny." Tony laughed and McGee rolled his eyes. "Now answer me ." Tony stopped laughing and now seemed quite serious. "Are you planning on making little McGeeks?"

"No, Tony, I'm not planning on it… not anymore, at least." And with that said, the idiotic grin returned to his face.

"You are scaring me, Probie." Tony frowned as he regarded the younger man. "Not anymore? What does it mean? Wait. If you are not planning on it anymore then you've already set into motion your devil plan to populate the planet with little ugly geeks who always know better. And, oh my… if you… then Abby… we are so dead. Little ugly geeks on CafPow. That's a terrible end…"

"Are you finished, Tony?"

"No! Have you thought about it? What would happ…"

"Not another word, Dinozzo." Abby stepped between Gibbs and McGee's desks with narrowed eyes. "Nobody will insult my baby." Tony gulped as he looked at the Goth who held her hands protectively over her belly.

"You're right, Abby." Well, this protective mother bear side of Abby really scared Tony. "With you as its mother, it's got a better chance to be a lovely child." He tried to smooth away the situation but Abby wasn't very amused.

"A chance? Tony, this baby will be the most adorable, the most beautiful baby on the planet."

"You know Abs, you might be right if it wasn't for my little girl."

"Tony, you don't have a little girl." McGee pointed out the obvious.

"Then who is this angel here?" Tony scooped up the little girl. "Isn't she the most beautiful baby on Earth?"

"Oh, my God, Tony!" Abby gasped seeing the clear fatherly pride on Tony's face. "You want to keep her." She ran to Tony and hugged him together with Lora, completely forgetting about his previous insults.

"Well, I'd like to adopt her, yes. But I'm still waiting for Director Vance to tell me what he managed to do in this matter."

"Director Vance?" McGee furrowed his brows.

"Yes. Everybody's favorite director is my last chance and he promised to help me."

"Well, Tony." McGee stood up to go and shake his friend's hand. "I'm happy for you and I really hope that everything will go just fine."

"Yeah, me too. And I'm happy for you, too. You know Abs that I wasn't serious about the little ugly guys." He smiled down at Abby who was still clinging to him. "But the geek part is totally viable, you kno… ouch!" Abby pinched Tony in the shoulder but she was smiling, too.

"Now that we cleared this…" She turned to McGee with hands on her hips. "Tim, why don't you put it up on the plasma while you are at it? Maybe there is still somebody who doesn't know."

"I'm sorry Abs. But you know how Tony is…"

"But I wanted to tell when everybody's together." Her tone was very close to whining.

"Tell what?" Gibbs appeared in the squad room with his family in tow. Just that thought made him walk more proudly then before. At his boss' question McGee's idiotic grin reappeared on his face as he looked at the Gibbses. Ziva smirked knowingly while she picked up Lora who was by her legs as soon as she saw her. Abby hit her boyfriend in the shoulder then ran up to Gibbs and literally jumped into his arms and mumbled the good news into his neck.

"Abs, I can't really hear you."

"She's just saying, Boss, that Probie here knocked her up." Tony supplied helpfully but suddenly he could feel an elbow sharply connecting with his gut and he looked at Ziva and the girls shocked when all three of them began to chuckle as he yelped.

"I didn't knock up anybody, Tony." McGee stated indignantly.

"Are you pregnant, Abs?" Gibbs looked at the woman still in his arms and after the Goth nodded happily, he turned to McGee with his best Gibbs glare. "I really hope, Tim, that you're planning on making a decent woman out of Abby."

"Oh, come on, Gibbs. It's the 21st century…" Abby looked at the older man but McGee took over.

"I can assure you, Boss, that Abby is already a decent woman… but yes… I'd like to marry her…" Well, maybe he didn't need to reassign him to the Antarctic after all, Gibbs noted satisfied but he was snapped out of his thoughts by Abby's high-pitched voice.

"What?" Abby looked shocked as she stared at her boyfriend. "McGee!" McGee gulped while Ziva and Tony winced collectively. That didn't look too good. Gibbs found the unfolding scene quite amusing, though.

"Umm, Abby…" McGee tried to put a sentence together and make that somewhat abrupt proposal seem just a little more intimate. "I mean… well... you know now that…" Well, he tried... and failed miserably.

"Now what? Now that you knocked me up!" Abby raised an eyebrow while the man was gaping like a fish. "What, McGee? The cat took your tongue?"

"Come on, man." Tony whispered to McGee. "Be a man and face the woman." With that he showed McGee to stand right in front of Abby who regarded him with narrowed eyes now.

"Abby… you know I didn't mean that." It seemed that the younger man began to collect himself. "I love you. I've loved you ever since I heard your voice over the phone… and I want to marry you. Baby or no baby. Though I'm really happy about the baby…" Here he giggled excitedly and suddenly Abby threw her arms around him.

"Oh, Timmy. I love you, too." She squeezed the man tightly. "And of course I'll marry you." And back was McGee's idiotic smile. Well, that would be a constant phenomenon for months to come.

"Thank God." Tony cried out then petted McGee on his shoulder grinning at the couple.

Gibbs shook the younger man's hand with a sincere smile. He was really happy that his girl had finally managed to find an honest guy. Ziva walked up, too, to the couple with Lora still in her arms and hugged first Abby then McGee both of whom giving her a grateful "thank you" then passing Lora back to Tony, she stood next to her husband sneaking an arm around his waist and pulling Avigail closer to her listening to Abby's happy babbling.

"You knew about that." Gibbs stated as he looked down at her. Ziva just shrugged with a knowing smile.

"Alright, people." Director Vance appeared in the squad room. "I really hope that I'll see some work done, too, today." The team looked just slightly chastised, well, except for Gibbs. He didn't look even slightly so. "You know, you really didn't give me much time to sleep at night. Not to mention the headache some of you caused me… but I hope I could help." Here both Tony and Gibbs straightened visibly while Ziva looked at her husband somewhat uncertain.

"Gibbs, here's the file you asked for." He handed a folder to the team leader but kept his eyes on Ziva. "Agent David, I hope it'll answer some of your questions concerning your daughter. However, I'm certain that you won't like most of the things in there. As for Avigail, she is to stay in your custody until the adoption papers come through." He petted the little girl's hair with a smile then turned to Tony. "Agent Dinozzo." Tony stood genuinely nervous in front of the director. "You certainly give me more credit than I deserve…" Tony's shoulders visibly slumped as he held Lora just a little bit tighter. "But I hope this will do." He handed a folder to Tony who took it uncertainly. "Your request for Lora Carpino's adoption will be considered. That's all I could do. The rest depends on you, Dinozzo." That was enough for Tony. He got the chance to prove that he could be a responsible father to his little girl. A huge grin erupted on his face as he looked down at Lora. "And I hope you are ready to take in the girl permanently." The director added.

"What?" Tony looked a little puzzled.

"You are her legal guardian Dinozzo." Vance indicated to the folder in his hand. "You just have to sign the papers."

"Thank you, Director." Vance nodded then turned to Abby.

"Miss Sciuto, we can talk about your maternity leave whenever you want." He told her with a hardly visible smile and genuine surprise appeared on his face when the happy Goth trotted up to him with open arms and took him in a crushing embrace.

"Thank you."

When Abby let him go, Vance smoothed down his jacket, somewhat embarrassed and with a last glance over the group, and especially Gibbs, who gave him a grateful nod, he left. But not without stressing his point once again about their work.

It was Tony's turn to accept congratulations and once again, Gibbs looked at his wife accusingly.

"You knew about that, too." Ziva laughed out.

"You should know by now, my dear, that I know about everything." She gave him a wink while Gibbs just scoffed.

"It looks like that we were left out of the party, Dr Mallard." Palmer noted in a humorous tone as he entered the squad room with Ducky.

"Yes, Mr Palmer, it looks very much like that." The old ME agreed. "Can we ask what happened here?"

By the time Abby had finished her account about Avigail, Tony's decision on adopting Lora and her being pregnant with McGee's child, a playful smirk was playing on Ducky's lips.

"Well, Mr Palmer. Are you getting a child, too?" Ducky raised an eyebrow as he turned to his stunned assistant questioningly.

TBC

Thanks for reading!

I'm a little unsure about the plot, or more precisely about me being clear about the happenings in the past. I have a quite clear timeline in my head but it might not be that obvious for you, guys. So if there is anything that is not clear, feel free to point out!

The last chapter is coming up… if you are patient enough! :-P