So, well, here is the fourth chapter :) I really hope my fanfiction is not getting worse... I'm currently writing the 8th chapter and I think it will be done in not more than two days :D

I hope you'll like this one too :)

A scar

April came in a hurry. Weeks passed fast, one after another, and the team soon found themselves at the beginning of the spring. The weather was getting warmer and warmer, the sun shone much more often and the trees were becoming greener and greener. Nature smiled at the world, showing all its beauty.

The atmosphere of the spring was similar to what Tony felt inside of him. He was happy and her smile shone during the days that were flying by in front of his eyes.

They hadn't had arguments since the last one in the elevator. Everything was fine again.

But one day, she looked tense when she arrived at work. Tony knew that he wasn't the reason why she wasn't fine, but he couldn't help thinking about the possibility that he had done something wrong to her. That "thing" – to quote Ziva – that they had was precious, but yet fragile and Tony was always scared that he could ruin it. It was like a beautiful glass that could be dropped anytime. He didn't know if he would be able to put together the pieces if the glass shattered.

Anyways, as minutes passed, he was getting more and more convinced that it was not because of him, if she was this tense. She didn't talk as much as she usually did, but she was always ready to address him with a smile after he told a joke or said something nice. Even though he wasn't the reason, he was worried. She wasn't very good at hiding her feelings, at least not from him. Tony wanted to know what was bothering her and he had the feeling that Ziva needed - and maybe wanted – to be helped.

The opportunity arose when Gibbs sent them to question some witnesses in Norfolk. It was a long journey and Tony was the one who was driving. Ziva hadn't even protested when he had said, "I'm driving" and took the keys. There was definitely something in her mind, something that was haunting her.

They both kept quiet during all through the journey. Ziva looked outside the window and Tony focused on the street in front of him, gazing at her quite often.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, when they found themselves stuck in a jam.

Ziva looked at him for a moment. "Nothing, I am okay," she murmured, trying to smile. Her smile was so sad, though, that it made him even more worried.

"Hey, no, I'm serious." Tony looked at her intensely.

Ziva returned the look, then she sighed and got back to stare out of the window. "My father phoned me this morning… he is coming here in a week."

Tony didn't say anything, waiting for her to keep talking, but she added nothing, so he spoke. "I hope there are no killers after him this time. I'm not really looking forward to have such a hard time trying to protect him, like what happened the last time he showed up in DC."

Ziva laughed lightly. "Well, he is the director of Mossad, so…" She paused for a moment and smiled. "He is going to travel escorted, anyways."

"Thank God."

The silence lasted a few seconds. Soon Tony asked, "So, what's the problem? I thought you had forgiven him."

Ziva leaned her head on the window. "I have."

"And…?"

"And I do not know if I am ready for this," she said, with a louder voice than before.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I have forgiven him, yes. But… letting him be part of my life… it is something bigger." She nodded. In the meantime, the traffic had reduced and Tony was finally able to drive again. "I am not the best at letting people be a part of my life," she added, with a sad tone of voice.

Tony tried to cheer her up. "You're not the worst, either," he told her, smiling at her. Ziva stared at him with a questioning look. "Gibbs," he said, smirking at her. Ziva laughed lightly.

For the rest of the journey, neither of them said anything. They soon reached the witnesses' house and Tony parked the car in front of it.

"I think you should give him a chance," he said, smiling at her, before going out of their car. Ziva smiled too and thought she would follow his advice after all.

He sat on the couch and closed his eyes, letting all the tiredness slip away from him. It had been a tough day and a tough night. He hadn't slept for more than twenty-four hours and he felt worn out. He couldn't fall asleep, though. His thoughts were still haunting him.

Ziva had left a few hours before them. Gibbs had let her go because she had been invited to dinner by her father for that night. Gibbs wasn't the kind of boss who let their agents go out from the Navy Yard before the job was done, but he had made an exception, though, maybe because he know how important it was for Ziva.

And this was why Tony couldn't sleep. He couldn't help picturing in his mind Ziva at dinner with her father. He could almost see her wonderful dress that left the shoulders uncovered. He could almost feel the embarrassment between the two of them. He wondered what they were doing, what they were talking about. Probably they were chatting about the old good times while eating falafels.

Oh, come on Tony, you know they aren't, he told himself. He has many other things to tell her…

Yes, he had, and Tony hoped he wouldn't miss the chance to tell her all she needed to hear. This was why Tony had suggested her to give him a chance. He wanted Eli to talk to her. However, Tony still wasn't sure if forgiving her father had been the best choice for Ziva. Maybe she should have just pushed him away and forgotten about him.

After all he's done to her... he thought, feeling the anger burning inside of him. There were scars on her body, he knew it, and there were scars inside of her. Tony wasn't ready to forgive the man who had somehow caused her so much pain. And he wasn't only thinking about Somalia; he was also thinking about her past in the Mossad, the killer that she had become because of her father.

She wouldn't be here if he hadn't made her become a killer.

This thought came up in his mind and scared him. It was the truth, though, and he had to admit it. So… did he have to thank Eli for raising up his daughter as a killer? Otherwise, Tony would have never met her. But he couldn't let himself think about this. It wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want Ziva to suffer and he wished she hadn't suffered that much through her life. He would have never met her, yes; but her happiness mattered much more than his own.

However, that thought refused to let him go and he spent the night staring at the ceiling, wondering what his life would have been like without her.

The following day, he was even more anxious to see her than usual. He arrived to the Navy Yard half an hour earlier than the other days. When Ziva got into the bullpen, he saw a curious and surprised expression on her face that made her look even more beautiful.

"Hello, Ziva," Tony said, with a giant smile. She smiled back and sat at her desk; then she started to work. Tony studied her for a few minutes. She looked relaxed. Things with her father were probably fine. He wanted to know much more, though, and he had to repress the instinct that almost made him get up and go to talk to her.

An hour passed and Gibbs phoned McGee and ordered him to go to MTAC. Tony and Ziva were now alone in the bullpen.

"So, how did the big dinner go?" Tony asked, still looking at the screen of his computer.

"The food was fine," she replied with a smirk.

Tony gave a faint laugh. "I'm sure it was." A moment later, his expression was serious again. "No, really, how did it go?"

Ziva understood that she couldn't avoid the question for much longer. "It went well… He was… nice," she murmured and Tony barely heard her words.

"So… everything's fine now?" he asked, looking at her.

"No, it is not…" she said, with a sad smile on her lips. Before Tony could say anything, Ziva added, "Everything was fine last night and yes, I think maybe I will let him be part of my life."

"So what's not fine?"

She kept quiet for a moment. "It is not that easy, Tony," she said. "I cannot imagine what will happen by judging a single night. I guess I will wait and see."

Tony nodded. "Sounds like that's the best thing to do to me."

Ziva smiled and they got back to work.

Tony heard someone knocking at his door. He took a fast look at the clock: eleven pm. Then he got up. He walked slowly towards the door and, when he opened it, it took him some time to recognize the woman who was standing in front of him. It was so strange to see her there that he couldn't believe that she was actually there.

"Ziva?"

Ziva smiled faintly when he said her name. "Can I come in?"

He looked at her with his eyes open wide. "Huh? Yes, yes, come in."

She entered the house and Tony closed the door, looking at her back. It was so odd that she was there, in his house. They hadn't been at each other's places for more than a year. She looked somehow out of place in his home, and yet she made his home look much cozier and nicer. It was strange to see her there, but inside of him, Tony begged her not to ever leave.

Slowly, Ziva turned to face him and bit her lip. She opened her mouth but soon she closed it, uncertain whether she had to say something or not. She took a deep breath, and she told him, "Sorry, I should not have come."

Tony shook his head, smiling tensely. "No, no, it's okay. I'm… glad you're here."

Ziva smiled and started to look around. She noticed the high piles of DVDs at every corner of the room and she couldn't help smirking. "It has not changed much here," she said.

"Something has," he replied, looking at her intensely.

"Yeah, it's… a little messier than the last time I was here," she said with a smile. Tony smiled too.

"You think?"

Ziva shrugged her shoulders. "Yes."

"Well, I guess I.. I haven't had much time to tidy up, lately."

Ziva nodded and moved around the house. Tony followed her with his eyes. She seemed so confused and curious. He couldn't help thinking that it was… sweet to see her like this. But he needed to ask the question that had been wandering around his mind since she had gotten into his house.

"Ziva, I don't want to sound rude, but… why are you here?"

She looked at him and he could swear she was trembling a little. "I…" She made a strange movement with her hand trying to express in motions what she was thinking and feeling while trying to figure out what to say. "I was thinking about last night, about the dinner I had with my father…" She looked away, trying to avoid Tony's eyes. "And I realized that… It is not fine at all." She took a deep breath. "We only talked about… nice things. You know, memories from the past, like… birthdays or holidays… It was nice to talk to him about these things, but… It was not true."

Tony stared at her, lost in her words and in his own thoughts. He was listening to her carefully, but yet he was also thinking about the fact that she was actually opening up to him. It felt right, it felt good. He was happy, even if he was worried because of what she was saying, and all these mixed feelings were fighting in his chest.

Meanwhile, Ziva was still speaking. "It was not true because… we both avoided the things that we really needed to talk about. Neither of us mentioned Somalia, or Mossad, or my mother, or anything… Neither of us." She was now looking at him; maybe she expected him to say something, but Tony didn't really know what to say. So she continued, "How am I supposed to think that it can work between us if we can't even talk about things that really matter?" She started walking around the room, nervous. "I mean… I know why he left me in Somalia and I know why he did to me what he did… when I was a child and when I was a girl, but…" she shook her head, "I don't get why we cannot talk about this."

"Did you try?" Tony asked, a little scared to interrupt her monologue.

"No!" she yelled. "And this is the point! I did not want to! I wanted him to talk about that, maybe, but he did not! And of course I did not want to talk about it at first." She smiled sadly, shaking her head. "Things will never be okay between us if we do not talk about these things! Never!" Ziva took a deep breath. Talking that much had definitely made her tired.

Tony looked at her for some time before speaking. "Listen, Ziva, I… I'll be honest."

"This is exactly what I want from you," she said, nodding.

Tony gave a faint smile, then he got back to talk. "I think that… you should push him away."

"Tony, he is my father!" she protested.

"I know!" he shouted. Then he calmed down. "But above all, he's a man, and if you… if you don't think that things can work between the two of you… then why cause yourself more pain?"

"Because… "she started saying, but she stopped before adding anything else. She opened her mouth a little and shook her head. "I do not know."

"I'm not telling you not to see him again, Ziva. I'm not telling you that you should stop talking to him."

"You just told me to push him away…" she said, looking at the ceiling, her eyes full of doubts.

"I know, and I told much more than I should have."

"But is that what you think?" she demanded.

"No, it's not." Tony took a step towards her. "What I mean is… you don't need to have him in your life, after all. You don't. You can forgive him, you can. But there's no need to push things if they don't work. The two of you… Both of you have made different choices in your lives… You don't have to pretend that this isn't true. You don't have to act like you were the perfect father-daughter-relationship picture. You need to be you, and so does he. You need to move on. Your father.. your father can be a part of your life, but there's time. You don't need to get stressed if things don't work. Your life has changed a lot in the past few years… and maybe it got better. Don't let this ruin everything. Make the choice that will be the best for you."

Ziva was now staring at him, stunned. His words were all around her mind and she wasn't going to let them go. He had been so direct and honest with her. She was amazed.

Tony felt her eyes on him and looked a little embarrassed. "What?" he asked, giving a faint laugh.

"Nothing…" she said, smiling lightly.

They kept quiet for a few moments. There was an embarrassing silence.

"So, um… do you wanna stay?" he asked. Ziva opened her eyes widely. "I… I mean," Tony immediately said "for… uh, dinner, or something."

"I have already eaten," she replied with a smile.

Tony nodded. "Okay."

There was another silence.

"So… I guess I am leaving," Ziva said, after a whole minute of silence.

Tony forced himself to say an "okay" and showed her to the door. He opened it silently and waited for her to get out. "So, I'll, um… see you tomorrow," he murmured, looking at her.

Ziva nodded, smiling. "See you tomorrow." Then she left.

Tony shut the door behind him and leaned on it, closing his eyes. Suddenly, the weight of the conversation they had just had hung over him and he felt heavy.