"Timmy!"
Second grade Tim looked up to see his mother on the porch.
"Can you please watch Sarah?" She asked. "I have to make dinner."
Timmy beamed. Now that he was a big boy, he could be trusted with more.
"Okay, mom!" He cried, picking up his baby sister.
She giggled. "Hi, Sarah Bear!" He said, tickling her. She laughed.
"Hi, Timmy!" Timmy looked up to see an excited Abby dashing across the lawn. "Look! My mommy got me new stuff!" She pointed to a skull T-shirt, black jeans, silver studs, and a pair of black and white Converse sneakers.
"Well, those sneakers are cool on you." He said, He blushed a little.
"Timmy, you're so sweet." She shyly smiled. Odd for Abby. "Can I see her?" He asked.
"You're like her sister, Abby. Of course." He handed his babbling little sister over to Abby, who held her lightly in her arms. Her babbles turned into light breathing as she slowly drifted into sleep.
"Shh, let's take her inside." Timmy whispered, leading her inside to Sarah's room.
Once they had laid her in her crib, Timmy smiled down at her.
"A girl."
"What?" Timmy asked, turning to Abby.
"I want a little girl. When I grow up."
And, as much as he would get teased if he admitted it, Timmy wanted a beautiful little girl, too.
"Me too." He whispered softly.
They watched Sarah sleep in silence. Finally, Timmy looked over at Abby, who had fallen asleep in the rocking chair. He took a blanket, laid it over her. Suddenly, he kissed her forehead. He blushed, and fell asleep in the chair beside her.
"Timmy?" Maria McGee, Timmy's mother, asked. She peeked inside of Sarah's nursery. She smiled as she saw the three fast asleep, and she lightly shut the door.
First grade had flashed by pretty quickly for little Ziva. She had already found a whole group of oddball friends. She very much liked them, because they did not judge her like the other kids. They were nice to her, and they didn't think she was quiet or funny-looking or weird.
They cared about her.
Especially one, a messy-haired, wily boy….he seemed to care the most.
She stared out of her bedroom window. Ziva was all alone. Mama had gone out for a while, saying she would come back. It had been a week since she had said that. Daddy had to go out to meet some "colleagues" tonight.
"Why can't I come?" She asked. Her father gave her a stern look, but something else flashed across his face. For just a moment, he seemed to become….fearful.
"You'll understand when you get older. Now, back to your jiu jitsu." He said sternly.
She laid down, and closed her eyes, ready for sleep.
Suddenly, something came flying in the window.
"Aagh!" She jumped back. She picked up the item. It was a small pebble. In came another one. And another. She stuck her head out the window.
"I warn you, I know where Aba keeps his knives!" She shouted out the open window. Crouched in an attack position, she peered over the windowsill.
She looked down upon Tony.
"Tony, what're you doing?" She asked. He held a finger to his lips.
"I gotta show you this!"
"What?"
"Come on!"
"Tony, if I'm caught, I'm dead meal." She said.
"Meat, Ziva." He corrected.
"Whatever!" She silently slid out the pane in her window, and she lowered herself onto the roof. She then lightly stepped down the roof, swung down ff the rain gutter and steadily landed on her feet in the front yard. She wiped her hands on her shirt and straightened up, smiling. Tony stared.
"Whoa, my ninja."
"Your ninja?" She scoffed.
"Yeah, that's what I'm gonna call ya. A ninja." He said, walking ahead with a grin.
"Wait up!" She cried. She looked up, and suddenly realized they were in a dark forest.
"Tony, wh-where are we?" Ziva asked, scared. It was not emotion she was used to.
"It's okay. When Mommy and Daddy would fight, I came here." He said, somehow navigating his way through the thicket of trees. He stopped for Ziva.
"Tony, I'm- I'm kind of scared." She stuttered. He took off his jacket, and threw it around her. He looked the shivering girl square in the eye. Chocolate brown orbs met polished emeralds.
"Ziva, as long as I'm here, I promise, I won't let anything hurt you." He said, holding her close to him. She nodded, and kept walking.
"We're here." He announced quietly. She looked up to an impossibly high up tree house. She gaped.
"Just follow me." He said. He seemed to search for a little niche in the wood. "Aha!" he lodged his foot in a spot, and began to climb. "Come on, ninja!" He called behind him. She gritted her teeth, and, finding an impossibly small set of rungs, began to climb.
Panting, she threw herself inside the tree house. She then looked around.
It was more like a small cabin.
The floor was smooth, made of light-smelling cedar wood. In the corner was a wooden box with a blanket on top. A bed of some sort. In another corner was a bright red cooler, and a pad of paper. There was even a small brown guitar in a corner. The walls are lined with posters, notes, and even a few drawings.
"My second home." He murmured, straightening the blanket and fixing the guitar on its stand.
"Tony, this is amazing." Ziva said, looking around the small room.
"I always come here, when Mommy and Daddy are fighting. I can't take the noise. And the hurtful things." His voice cracked. "They say mean things, Ziva. I don't like it."
"It's okay, Tony." She said, sitting next to him on the bed. She laid her hand on his knee. "I understand. Sometimes Aba does that-" She paused. "-but it's to me. When I mess something up in-in training or-or I get tired and I hurt-" She began to cry. She buried her face in Tony's shoulder. "I feel like he doesn't love me."
Tony held her while she cried, slowly rocking her back and forth. He softly sang a lullaby he remembered from such a long time ago.
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be all right
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
He looked out the window to the surrounding darkness.
You and I'll be safe and sound….
Suddenly, he realized that she was asleep in his arms. He smiled, and he himself drifted off into sleep.
Ziva awoke to chirping birds and the familiar smell of cedar wood. She panicked slightly, as she couldn't remember how she got here. Then, she remembered everything: their trek in the woods, the tree house, both of them comforting each other, Tony's lullaby. She spotted Tony, who was curled up under his jacket in the corner. She walked over to him.
"Tony? Tony?" She whispered, shaking him. He looked up with sleepy eyes.
"Oh. Morning." He yawned.
"I should probably get back. You want to walk me back?" She asked.
"Sure."
Well, there you have it.
Cute chapter, in my opinion…but it's YOUR voice I want to hear.
You know the drill: PRESS THE BLUE BUTTON.
Love you all!
-Vi
