Rifiuto: Non Miriena
"You know what this reminds me of, Tim?" He held out the evidence case for the map as she rolled it up again.
"Mossad case?" She shook her head.
"The Harry Potter novel." He raised an eyebrow.
"You've read those?" She nodded.
"Asher loves them. They are his favorites." He chuckled as they gathered what they needed, and quickly left, heading back towards the car. She squeezed his hand, giving him a smile, before a voice stopped them.
"Excuse me. You know where I can find Keller Avenue?" They turned, finding themselves facing a man in a plaid shirt, tan jacket, baseball cap and dark shades.
"Yeah, about four blocks, north of here." The man nodded, glancing over his shoulder.
"And I'm gonna need that map." Tim raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?" The man nodded behind him, and it was then that they saw the barrel of a gun facing them. Glancing at Ziva, he removed the evidence case and handed it to the man, before handing over his gun as well. The man quickly tossed it into the fountain.
"Now back up. I said back up!" Sharing a glance, they did as told, moving slowly back until the backs of their legs brushed the fountain. By this point, everyone was watching, intrigued by the standoff in the middle of the courtyard. Ziva glanced at Tim, loosely grasping his hand.
"Now what?" He asked, a hint of challenge in his voice; the man shrugged.
"Now you get wet." Before either one could ask, he'd shoved them both, sending them into the water with a splash; Ziva was thrown completely into the fountain, while Tim's shoes hit the rim. Most people watched in shock as the two came up gasping for air. But the woman sitting at the restaurant was up and rushing towards them, even as Tim scrambled to his feet and grabbed his gun, but by then, the guy and his accomplices were gone. He quickly put his gun away and pulled out his cellphone before tossing it into the fountain.
"Damn it! Gibbs is gonna kill me." Ziva pulled out her own gun, before slipping it back into her holster and pulling on her now wet sweater. She quickly ran her hands over her forehead, getting rid of the water as she looked down.
"Look on the bright side, Tim." He turned to her, hearing the footsteps rushing towards them.
"What bright side?" She shrugged, looking down at her clothes.
"At least I am clean again." He rolled his eyes.
"Are you two okay?" They both turned, to see young woman with short, chestnut curls standing in front of the fountain. Tim nodded and glanced at Ziva.
"Yeah, thank you, we're both just... just wet." Ziva sighed, as Tim moved towards the edge of the fountain. The woman held out a hand, helping him step over the rim. He gave her a small smile, and turned back to Ziva. "Well, on the bright side, Ziva, this will make an interesting story to tell Asher during dinner." The Israeli chuckled, and moved towards him, before losing her footing and landing back in the water. Both he and the woman reached into it, offering their hands. She grabbed them both, allowing them to help her to her feet and out of the fountain.
"Toda." Ziva gave the woman a quick nod as she turned and rang out her hair into the fountain. The woman nodded.
"Al lo Davar, Zivaleh." The Israeli's hands stopped, and she felt her breath catch. One four people called her by that diminutive; one had disowned her, and the other three were dead-
"Zi, you okay?" She swallowed, quickly glancing at Tim with a nod.
"K... ken, Tim. I... I am fine." She replied, returning to wringing out her hair.
"If you're fine, then why can't you look at me?" She swallowed thickly, closing her eyes, trying hard to ignore the voice. "Zivaleh, look at me. Please." She shook her head.
"No."
"Why not?" Tim watched the exchange, thoroughly and utterly confused by now, but he didn't know where or how to jump in. "Why can't you look at me, Zivaleh?" The Israeli shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks and mixing with the water running from her hair.
"Because-" She swallowed.
"Because why?" Ziva took a deep breath.
"Because you are dead." She sniffled, shaking her head. "And the dead never return to life."
The woman stepped closer, reaching out before thinking and pulling her hand back. "Please, Zivaleh, look at me. Look at me. That is all I'm asking." The Mossad Officer took a shaky breath, and slowly, turned to face the voice. The woman gave her a small smile, reaching out for her hand. "Shalom, sister." Ziva shook her head, fresh tears racing down her cheeks as she closed her eyes.
"No... Tali is dead... she died at sixteen... she..." The woman grabbed her hand, holding it tight.
"No I didn't, Ziva. They never found my body-"
"Because there were no remains-"
"No, because there was no body to find. Because I wasn't in that bomb blast that killed Ima. Because by the time that bomb went off, I was already on a plane, leaving Israel." Ziva continued shaking her head as she struggled to pull her hand away, but the woman refused to let her go. "Ziva please, look at me. Look at me, Zivaleh. That is all I want, for you to look at me." The woman reached up, caressing the Israeli's face as Ziva slowly opened her eyes. The woman gave her a small, shy smile, and she felt her heart stop.
No, it wasn't possible. Her baby sister was dead, she was-
Standing in front of her, as alive as she herself was.
Swallowing thickly, she choked, "Tali?" The woman nodded, tears coming to her own eyes.
"I thought I would never see you again, Zivaleh."