Rifiuto: Non Miriena

He leaned against the doorway, watching as Ziva gently tucked the blanket around their son. She whispered softly to him in Hebrew, tapping his nose and making him smile. Then, she whispered softly to him and pressed a kiss to his forehead before turning off the light and turning off the light. As he stepped back and allowed her to join him in the hall and shut the door, he said, "You have quite a way with him." She followed him into the kitchen, accepting the cup of tea he offered her.

"Of course I have a way with him. He is my son-" She stopped, meeting his gaze. "He is... our son." He smiled softly at her, and then he set his cup down, lost in thought. "What is it? Is something wrong?" He shook his head, turning and leaning back against the counter, hands gripping the edge.

"No, I just... I keep thinking to what Ari told me tonight."

"What did he say?" Tim licked his lips, thinking. Then, he turned his gaze to her, "He... he told me that.. 'This is why I spared you that day.'"

"I do not understand." Her brown eyes sparked with confusion, and he sighed, his voice becoming thick with tears as he spoke.

"He was... he was talking about the shootout at the warehouse. The day Kate died." He swallowed thickly. "I was down on the ground, working on the transmitter, trying to stop the drone from hitting its target-"

"What was its target?" He sighed, closing his eyes briefly.

"Military families, waiting to welcome back loved ones to come off the ships docking into Norfolk Harbor." She let out a soft gasp, not wanting to believe it. Tim nodded. "At one point, I looked up at the sound of gunfire; by then, the drone had taken off, and I was trying to stop it. The next thing I know, I'm in the crosshairs, and as I ducked for cover to return fire, I felt a bullet fly past; it hit the transmitter instead. It was Ari that targeted me. I was his first target, and then he went after Kate. And he killed her." He sniffled. "He must have known that I had some connection to you, otherwise, he would have killed me then and there." She licked her lips.

"He knows that you are Asher's father." She took a deep breath. "I was a virgin when we met. We both were. Ari watched us, he tried to protect us, and when you were ripped from me, he did all he could to make sure Asher and I were safe. He looked after me after I got pregnant." She moved closer, reaching up to cradle his face in her hand. "He knows how much you mean to me. And... I... I cannot accept the possibility that my brother would try to murder the man I love-"

Slowly, Tim pulled away. She watched him, not understanding why he was being so skittish all of a sudden. He licked his lips, shaking his head, scattering his thoughts. He took a deep breath, licking his lips. "I... I will be right back." She watched him grab his cell off the kitchen table and then move to the door, slipping into the hall.

He came back a few minutes later, giving her a soft smile. "Sarah's coming over, we're gonna talk." He licked his lips. "Don't you need to be at Gibbs' place soon?" She looked up at him, nodding as she remembered Gibbs' whispered words,

"I'm counting on you to back me up."

"Yeah, I... I had better go. I... I will be back soon." Tim nodded, not meeting her gaze.

She couldn't do this. She couldn't stand behind the basement door and shoot her brother if Gibbs was right. But she had promised him that she would back him up if it came to that. While it pained her to be away from Asher and Tim, she made a promise to Gibbs and had to keep it. Besides, it didn't seem like Tim wanted her around right then anyway.

Voices could be heard, down in the basement, and she sighed, leaning her head back. Subconsciously, her hand moved to ghost over her stomach; an old habit she'd gotten used to when she was pregnant and her belly was growing and moving with the soft kicks and rollings of her son. This wasn't true; Ari was no killer. He was a doctor. He had delivered her son, for God's sake, his hands were used to give life, not take it. Her head lifted and her hand stopped at the raised voices.

"I wish I hadn't had to shoot Caitlan."

"Then why did you?"

"To cause you pain."

"I piss you off that much?"

"Not you, my father. You have the misfortune of reminding me of the bastard." She sucked in a breath, her own mind going back to the bastard in question. The one who had sent her mother into divorce, who had left Tali to die in the streets of Tel Aviv instead of instructing she be taken to a hospital, who had ripped the only man she ever loved from her arms and beat him, before disowning her and trying to kill both her and unborn child by shoving her down the stairs. Yes, he was a bastard, but he was still their father. She, Ari, Tali, they all shared his blood. Asher... She choked on a sob. Her son also carried that bastard's blood in his veins.

"He didn't marry your mother."

"That's what makes me a bastard, not him. From the moment of my birth, he groomed me to be one thing, his mole in Hamas. Sent me to Edinburgh to become a doctor, so I could work in the Gaza camps along my mother. When Ziva got pregnant, I helped take her out of Tel Aviv, to Be'er Sheva. And when Asher was born, I delivered him. It was one of the last good things I did before turning on the man that disowned my sister and tried to killer her and my nephew." He sighed. "By then, my mother had been killed, and I had no trouble joining the Iz Adin Al-Kassam."

"You don't really believe you father had your mother killed or tried to kill your sister and nephew?"

"It was a retaliatory Israeli strike that happened on a day when I was in Tel Aviv, visiting him. And I watched as he shoved Ziva down the stairs. She was five months pregnant; she had hidden it, but... I wanted to kill the bastard and I nearly did, but only Ziva's pleading stopped me." He swallowed, thinking back on his nephew, that eight-year-old little boy, who was finally with his father. He knew that Tim would take good care of both Asher and Ziva. "After decades of planning, he finally had his mole in Hamas, but he never knew how much I hated him. I wish I could see his face, when he realizes he created not a mole, but a monster, eager to strike at the heart of Mossad and Israel."

"I almost feel sorry for you."

"And I for you." He stood.

"And Tim? Why did you target Tim at the warehouse before turning to Kate?"

"I intended to kill him, in order to cause you pain. But when I saw him through the scope and realized who he was, and who he looked like, I stopped. I remembered meeting him in Israel, when he was a teenager, and how attracted to him my sister was. How they got along, and how their one night together both destroyed her and freed her. Yes, he took her virginity and she his, but he left her with something that would give her a new chance in life."

"Asher." He nodded.

"Yes. Your agent gave my sister that little boy. And when I delivered him, she was so scared, so frightened, but as soon as I laid him against her chest, she realized that it was just not about her anymore. She had a piece of your agent back, and her heart would heal. And when I saw who he was, I spared him. I hit the transmitter instead of him, because I knew if I took him, Ziva would never forgive me. That day at the warehouse, I thought of Asher, and of Ziva. And I thought of how your agent had given my sister the most precious thing in the world. He had given my little sister the very gift that saved her."

"Saved her how?"

"All through her pregnancy, I watched her change, not just physically, but emotionally, mentally. She spent most of her time daydreaming, of a life with the father of her child, a chance at a family, a home. The one thing Ziva has always wanted, but never had. She began thinking like a mother, how best to protect her child once he came into the world. And whenever she doubted herself, I told her to remember that the man she loved would always be in her heart."

"So you spared Tim, and in sparing Tim, you had to take Kate instead?"

"I killed Caitlin to cause you pain. I spared Tim to give him a chance with his son. I knew, that if I took Tim, that Ziva would never forgive me, and that her soul would have blackened, and that not even Asher's existence would be able to save her. Asher has kept her soul clean and her heart light. Tim did that for her. In giving her Asher, he saved her from the deepest evil she'll ever face. Our father."

She could hear their footsteps as they moved around the basement, and after a moment, peeked around the doorframe. "When Ziva told me you were placing flowers on the roof where Caitlin died, I couldn't believe it; such a romantic touch, and it was almost too good to pass up. Almost."

"Why did you?"

"I need you to commit suicide with your own rifle. You never did give me enough credit in our game. I knew it was a trap before Ziva told me you asked her to cover you. You'd never trust Ziva. Whether she had had a child with your agent or not, you would never trust her." He thought a moment. "And you need to kill me, taste the sweetness of revenge."

She watched as Gibbs moved to the steps, and then caught sight of Ari taking aim. "I've killed enough men in my life, Ari. It's going to be just as sweet watchin' you die."

He raised the gun, and she took her own aim, hearing her brother's last words, ring loud in the quiet basement. "Sorry to spoil your-"

The shot rang out, hitting him in the forehead and blowing the back of his head out, sending him to the floor in a pool of his own blood, eerily reminiscent of Kate. She struggled for several moments to reign in her emotions, before taking a deep breath and stepping onto the stairs. Gibbs looked back at her, and then got up, picking up the rifle from the floor as she stepped onto the cold cement floor.

"His father is the Deputy Director in Mossad?" She nodded, swallowing.

"Yes."

"Not David." She nodded again, swallowing the tears clogging her throat.

"Yes. What I told everyone in Jenny's office is true. He is my half-brother." As Gibbs passed, he squeezed her hand in solace. As the soft Hebrew prayer left her lips, she wrapped her arms around herself, thinking of Tim, and how she'd never been more grateful for Ari's final act of kindness.