Circumstances-3

Hello Readers;) I just wanna thank you guys AGAIN for being awesome and reading my story. I'm having exams now, so it might be a while for me to be able to go online and publish this. And Yes, I'm already going to end my hiatus in a bit. I think I'm taking way too long to write, and the extra pressure might just spur me on faster;) By the time I post this, however, I think I would have ended my hiatus, and started posting again. I should get back to studying... See you guys later;)

Okay, I know that it's pretty sudden for me to update this again, but I just want to say again, that I don't know how regularly I can update this. So, bear with me, okay? Thanks! Enjoy this chapter:3

Disclaimer- I wish. I'm just playing around with the characters:)

Chapter 3- Pretending

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"Sorry, Gibbs. Ziva had to use the head, and I didn't want her to get lost so I accompanied her." Tony lied smoothly to Gibbs when the older man asked him where he and Ziva ran off to. She nodded her head in agreement when Tony explained to him. Gibbs knew that they had done anything but that, but decided that it was probably something that they needed, so he let it slide.

It was a rare sight to see Tony silent for such a long time. He wouldn't even accept any humor thrown at him from anyone, nor would he respond to any playful barbs from Ziva or even Abby. Gibbs rarely showed any affection towards his son, but he placed his palm on his shoulders and patted his back comfortingly.

This was not the first time she was being questioned like this, and it certainly would not be her last. It was, however, the first time one of best friends was murdered, and she was being treated like a suspect. She repeated the story from her point of view, without putting in too much detail, ignoring the investigator's probes for more information.

He'd never know that even at her young age, she had been about to volunteer for Mossad because she already had the skills. At least, that was before her father sent her to the USA to watch out for her half brother, Ari. He came to visit her sometimes, but she was mostly on her own.

The officer knew that he was not getting anything out of her, and let her go, deciding to focus on her counterpart.

Tony was decidedly quiet when the two officers hauled him into the interrogation room. It was his first time being questioned in this official manner. The closest he ever got was being summoned to Principal Vance's office.

The moment the officer started asking him questions about his alibi and such, he started making smart comebacks and answers. It was just a reflex that he had picked up when he got nervous or scared. He could almost imagine his father headslapping him into tomorrow because of it.

Soon enough, the officer got frustrated and started making threats. Tony wanted to roll his eyes. He had not done anything at all, so those threats were futile. For officers, they really were kind of stupid to be wasting their time interrogating him, when they could be out there catching the killer.

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"You've got two great kids in there."

"I know."

"These are the kind that don't crack under pressure. They're special. You know, if you were still under NCIS, they would be great agents to have."

"But I'm not."

"Sir, can't you let them go? They're victims, not suspects."

"Sorry ma'am. We're just doing our jobs, and it's our job to check every possible lead. We'll release them after we're done, which won't be long now. They look like they're doing a great job at handling everything, as I was just telling your husband."

"That's exactly how they handle everything." Jenny said, and turned back to watching the cameras in the holding room. The officer seemed a bit confused at her statement, but decided not to act on anything. He, instead, tapped on the communication mic and told the guards to let them go.

The two kids were seated side by side, eyes focused on the table in front of them. Tony's hand was on Ziva's arm, and she let him perform that small act of comfort, which said a lot. Her eyes diverted to the camera every few minutes, as if she was daring them to let her go. When the guard suddenly yanked her up roughly, she fought the urge to kick him in the balls. Tony quickly sensed her tension and came to her side, sliding his hand up and down her back to try and calm her down.

"I'm alright, Tony. Really." She told him softly, when they were in the car and she noticed that his hand was still on her back.

"What if it's more for me than you?" He replied, before turning his hollow gaze to the scenery out of the window. After a minute, he retracted his arm and placed it on his lap. He couldn't help but wonder what happened to Kate's body. He wondered if he would even want to know, or see it. What if her face was so badly disfigured that he could no longer recognize her?

The thought alone gave him a chill because the one thing he promised himself was that he would never let himself forget her, or how she looked like. He suddenly felt a pressure on his hand, and turned to see Ziva's hand resting on his own. Her face was turned away from him, but he could see that her face became slightly colored for a minute, before turning back to her natural shade. He smiled to himself and flipped his palm over so they could link their fingers together, before going back to their original position.

The rest of the ride passed in silence, with the tension in the air slowly giving away to plain sorrow and grief.

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In the deep silence of the night, a lone man sat at the dining table, drinking his bourbon. His fingers flipped the boat building magazine, his eyes just glazing over the page before turning it over. He repeated the process until a hand gently gripped his arm to prevent him from turning the page.

"Jethro, come to bed, sitting out here alone isn't going to help." The gentle voice of his wife made him turn to her and give a sigh that was filled with regret and loss.

"The kids asleep?" He managed to ask.

"Yes. Ziva's staying over and sleeping in Tony's room. Tim's mother picked him up half an hour ago, and Abby finally managed to stop crying long enough for her to close her eyes. " He looked away, satisfied with her answer.

"They're taking it just as hard as me and you. Probably more, since Ziva and Tony were closest to her, but they're being very mature about it. Maybe that's because they haven't reached the legal drinking age yet, but they'll heal, slowly. And so will you. Let's get some rest, you can go and face the world and their demons tomorrow." Jenny said, before she took his hand to pull him away from the table, using her other hand to take the bottle away and cap it.

"It's not gonna work, Jen. You know they're just acting." Gibbs mentioned just before he entered the bathroom and shut the door, leaving a very solemn Jenny behind, holding the half empty bourbon bottle.

She stared emptily at the starless sky from the kitchen window, and unscrewed the bottle.

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He couldn't sleep and he knew for a fact that neither could she. If she had been sleeping, she would have snored. However, he evened out his breathing and shut his eyes when he felt the footsteps of his stepmother coming to check on him. He assumed that Ziva had done the same, for the footfalls retreated after a few minutes, and the door was shut once more.

He noticed a change in temperature when the sheet covers lifted, and he felt Ziva cautiously crawl into the bed and settle down beside him. He slowly turned on his side to face her, not wanting to surprise her, but when he did, her eyes were open and looking at him.

"Couldn't sleep?"

"Shut up. Neither could you."

"I wasn't going to say anything. You were pretending to sleep too, then?"

"Yes. I did not want Jenny to worry, she already has enough on her hands with me staying over tonight." She looked down at her fidgeting hands and for once, her walls were down.

"You're not a burden, Ziva. You'll never be a burden. " He reached out and clasped his hands over hers and stroked her hand softly. She gave him a small smile and leaned forward to place her head in the crook of his neck, sliding her hands out of his, and around his waist instead. He wrapped his arms around her back and held her tightly to him. They stayed in that position, drawing on each other's warmth and comfort, for a long time.

The door softly creaked open, and Tony looked up to see a teary eyed Abby clutching the doorframe uncertainly. She didn't say or seem to notice their seemingly compromising position. She just looked lost and forlorn. He lifted his arm from Ziva to gesture for her to join their embrace and she nearly ran over to them. Tony wiped the tears off of her face while Ziva put her arms around Abby in a protective position.

It took a while, but eventually, Abby fell asleep hugging the two older children. Ziva was in the middle of the bed, with Tony on her right, and Abby on the left. Abby had left her arms clinging to Ziva, and she had unintentionally snuggled up to Tony, with his arms around her. They looked almost peaceful when their eyes finally closed, but anyone who looked closer would see that there were tears seeping out from their closed lids.

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I'm gonna end here for now:) I thought it was a suitable place to end for the time being, you know, before I throw them into some more trouble? :) keke.

Please let me know what you think by leaving a review! Oh, and I have another request. If you think I'm going out of character, or I made a mistake with my characters, say put the wrong guy in the wrong place? Could you let me know? It would be really helpful. Thanks:)

Until next time,

~Lianna