Circumstances-5

Hey guys! Looks like I'm back again for another chapter:) I hope this chapter is longer than the previous one. Like I said, I apologize for the shorter chapters, but please understand that I don't have a lot of time to write, so I just do it when I can. Thanks to everyone who read this story, and SPECIAL THANKS to those who reviewed:) Every review means alot to me, especially since I'm fairly new to fanfiction. Other than my strange Author's note, HAPPY READING:D

Disclaimer: Oh yeah. I own NCIS. I own Disney too. How did I win them? Oh I won them in a lottery. AS IF. I have fanfiction to keep me company;)

Chapter 5 Secrets

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Her day had passed slowly, adding to her misery. She had not been able to concentrate on anything because of the numerous distractions present in her classroom.

To make matters worse, she didn't get to see Tony at all, because his breaktime was different from hers that day. Not having Tony to cheer her up made her more grumpy and irritable than usual.

The counseling session was horrible, only because she completely refused to cooperate. Every attempt to converse was met by hard rebuttal and dismissal in general. The only question which she answered properly was about her name. She was just glad when the day was over, and she could just go home and start on her homework.

They had piled her with homework from the classes that she had missed over the past week. That included projects that were due within two days. She almost picked up her phone to ask Kate for help, but then she realized that she could not. Her stubbornness prevented her from calling Tony, even though she knew he could help her more than anyone else could.

She didn't have a chance to do anything, though. Before she knew it, she heard stones being thrown at her window and she was about to throw them back at the culprit when she spotted Tony waving at her from downstairs. She rolled her eyes and laughed before she could stop herself. He was always acting out corny scenes from movies anyway. She did not want to give him too much attention, so she turned away and shut the window; but she left her front door open.

"Geez woman. Do you know how hard it is to hit the right window? The least you could do was wave back." Tony said when he strolled into the room. She pointedly ignored him and continued getting the food out of the fridge.

"Ziva, I brought food. Take it. I know you haven't eaten lunch yet." She turned around to see him waving a plastic bag with a couple of sandwiches. She finally smiled at him and accepted the food.

"So, I take it you had a bad day because I wasn't there to annoy you? Ha! I told you, you are totally gonna miss me when I graduate!" He made a casual joke and grinned when Ziva's response was to whack him in the shoulder.

"I will not miss you, Tony. I will be grateful that you do not distract me anymore. Unfortunately, I think you still wish to come over everyday, yes?" Ziva asked as she sat down on the couch and Tony made himself at home next to her.

"You guessed it! I'm not gonna let you out of my sight!" Tony flashed her a bright smile before turning his attention to the television set in front of them. "So, you do have cable, right?"

"Tony, I do not have time for a job, and I have always eaten takeout for meals. What part of my life gave you THAT impression?"

"Oh. Well then, it's settled. You're coming over at least once a week for movie night!"

"What?" Ziva let out a half chuckle, half yelp, and burst into laughter along with Tony. "Tony, you know I have no interest in those kinds of trivial matters."

"Zi, you're going to join me on those movie nights even if I have to come here and drag you with me." He ignored her incredulous look, picked up his bag and closed the door behind him.

The moment the door shut, Ziva leaned against the back of the couch and grinned. In that few minutes, her horrible day had brightened up considerably, and she was now looking forward to future Friday nights.

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Before Tony could even put his bag onto the floor, Abby had grabbed his hand, and was dragging him towards her room. She quickly bolted the door after him and pushed him towards her computer.

"Tony, guess what?" She looked so excited that he decided to humor her.

"What?"

"No fair. I can't tell you, you're supposed to guess!" Abby pouted and crossed her arms and stared at him.

"Abby... You dragged me here before I could even take a shower after a long day. What do you expect?" Tony gave her a tired look that caused her to soften, and she smiled back him after a bit of consideration.

"Okay, but you owe me a game!" She pointed her finger directly at him, who agreed, laughing.

"I managed to pinpoint the weapon that fired the killshot. The only reason there was a red flag which I noticed, was because it had been involved in previously unsolved murders. The locations range wide from DC to the Middle East." She paused to take in her brother's shocked expression, until he signalled her to continue.

"I can't tell you anything significant about the case though. I don't have enough clearance. If you can find the weapon, I might be able to help you." She tried to add in an element of hope for him.

No one else but her knew that he was secretly very disturbed that he could not catch Kate's killer. Not even Ziva. Everyone always assumed that he was already at peace with it, because of all the jokes he makes. It was the contrary, to be exact.

In fact, the only reason she found out about his sleepless nights and worries, was because she caught him one night. She had had a nightmare, and wanted to get something to drink. When she went down, she noticed that the front door was unlocked. She decided to check it just to be sure, and found Tony sitting under the tree in the backyard. He was looking at photographs that he had kept in a box, that she had never seen before.

When she came closer, she heard him speak. He was talking to the photos! At first, Abby thought her brother had finally gone nuts, and she could have his room; but then, she realised who he was talking to when he said her name out loud. Kate. He had looked up just then, but ignored her. Instead, he just leaned closer to the photo and whispered something inaudible, before putting them away and asking her what was wrong.

He gently nudged her in the direction of the house, and she reluctantly went back. She turned around and saw him standing right behind her, but the box was already hidden where she would never be able to find it. "Go back to sleep, Abby. I'll get your water and meet you in your room, okay?" Tony had said after he saw her yawning.

She never once questioned him about the photos, or whatever happened that night, and he never brought it up. It was their little secret. There were many things that the two siblings didn't agree on, but ultimately, they loved each other dearly and trusted the other with their life.

There was a time, when she didn't like the idea of Tony bringing Ziva over all the time. Kate and her had always been close, and bringing a new girl sort of disrupted their balance. That period of time soon passed, and now, she treated Ziva as if they were sisters. Plus, Tim got to come over more often and play with her too. He was always a bit shy around girls especially, but she knew that he was going to grow up to be a really smart guy.

Ever since the investigation into Kate's shooting began, she and Tony had been secretly digging information up on their own. So far, ballistics from the gun had led them towards one of the gang circles. Tony had a hunch that the infrequent times that Ziva had actually been seen with her brother indicated that he may have something to do with it. Therefore, telling Ziva, was not an option.

Ziva had not offered any information about herself, nor her family to her, and she had not questioned it. All she could hope for, was that her brother was closer to her, and he may be able to solve the case if she could not; and hopefully, all their relationships would still remain intact after that.

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Tony rung the doorbell, and waited for Ziva to open the door. She gave him an icy glare for interrupting her studies for 'movie night', but secretly, she was glad for the distraction. He didn't bother waiting for her "Come in", and just walked right past her into the living room. Some people would consider his actions rude, but his friends would take it that he knew them well enough to do that without getting strangled.

"Ziva, I take it that cleaning your place was never a priority on your list?" He said, as he nearly tripped over some of her clothes on the floor. She rolled her eyes and sat on the couch as Tony went over to her DVD player.

"I clean the house on weekends, Tony, and I'm not going to waste more time than needed on this, so you'd better start the show." Tony quickly did as he was told, and grabbed the snacks and drinks that he had brought over.

Halfway through the movie, however, he needed to take a leak from all the soda he had drunk. It did not really matter to him, since he had seen the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy a million times already. Ziva seemed to be enjoying 'The fellowship of the Ring', and he didn't want to disturb her, so he just went to the toilet quietly.

When he came back, he noticed that the movie was set on pause, and that Ziva wasn't at her seat anymore. He was suspicious at first, until he heard her voice, accompanied by another male's, in the kitchen. He knew that he should leave before he wore out his welcome, so he took out his disc and placed it back in his bag. By then, the two of them had walked into the living room. Upon seeing him, the man suddenly spoke in a harsh tone to Ziva in Hebrew, to which she glared at him defiantly, and spat Hebrew angrily back at him.

Tony quickly unlocked the front door and slipped outside. Before he could get far, he felt something pull him back. Ziva was tugging on his shirt, and he noticed that her gaze had softened considerably compared to the way she was glaring at the man before.

"I am sorry, Tony. Next week, I will go to your house to watch the movie to make it up to you, yes?" Ziva actually seemed hesitant of his answer, so he gave her a reassuring smile and a nod. "I know you have company. I don't wanna keep you, so bye Ziva. See you." She gave him another apologetic smile, and shut the door.

He couldn't help the thought that crossed his mind about the man that came over. Could he be Ziva's boyfriend? Although he knew it was highly improbable, he countered that she was acting a little different lately. At this point, he actually wished for his father to headslap him right there and then, and get him out of this ditch he dug for himself.

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HEBREW IN ITALICS.

Ziva noticed when Tony got off the couch and headed for the restroom. The weight of the couch shifted, and she felt slightly more conscious that she was alone. She had to admit, this movie was certainly nicer than it seemed. Tony did have good taste in choosing movies.

The front door clicked, and she jumped off the couch with a gun that was previously hidden in her mess of cushions. She merely sighed in frustration when she saw who it was. "Ari, what are you doing here?"

"Ziva, this is my house too. Why are you watching this American entertainment? You should be helping our father." Ari said. He paused at the door, noting the unfamiliar bagpack, along with the movie that Ziva immediately paused.

"Ari, as you can see, today I have a friend over. This stopped being your home a long time ago, and you cannot order me around as you wish." She said, trying hard to hold back her frustration and emotions from her half brother. She gestured him for her to follow her into the kitchen to continue their conversation, so that Tony would not be as shocked to see him there.

"Ziva, you are not permitted to speak that way to me. Who do you think you are? One of these Americans?" His voice began to rise, but she stood her ground. She was not afraid of him. She had been trained since young, how to control her fears. Although, her already worn thin patience for her half brother, was just about to snap.

"Brother, you have to stop looking down on Americans. If you pay attention, you may find that you can learn something from them. " She said, still standing firm even though she knew that she could get into a lot of trouble for this.

"You've gone soft, Ziva. America has made you soft! You should be sent back to where you belong." His statement made her blood boil. He had no right to say anything about her, when he has not even seen her in months!

"At least America has not made me lose my responsibility." She responded coldly. She walked out of the kitchen, knowing that Tony had heard enough to get the message. She found him standing over his bag, about to leave, when Ari made a comment. "This kid is your FRIEND? Ziva, he is such a weakling. He would be better off if you just cut him off and leave him with a bunch of whores."

"Just by that statement, I know that he is a much better man than you'll ever be." She snapped at him, stunning her brother into silence.

She seized the oppurtunity to go and say goodbye to Tony. She felt guilty that Tony had been forced to leave because her brother showed up unannounced. She had become too used to Ari sneaking into the house when he thought she was asleep, so she was surprised to find that he broke routine. There was always a reason, like when he needed to get medical supplies if he was hurt. She did not come out and ask him. Instead, she stayed in her room and caught up on her reading.

Her head told her that Tony would not be mad at her for 'ditching' him that night, but her conscience was eating at her. It felt worse when she recalled what Ari said about him. He gave her a reassuring smile, and it calmed her down more than she would admit. This just proved to her that Ari was wrong about him.

"Ziva, you are here to assist me. If you are unwilling to do so, I will call our father and tell him that you are not fit for life in America." Ari said in English, the moment she shut the door. His Israeli accent was thicker than Ziva's, but had a menacing edge to it.

"Brother, you do not control me, and neither does Father." She said calmly.

"I need your help, Ziva. The police are sniffing around, and it might jeopardize the operation. You have to throw them off." He asked as politely as he could. Ziva did not like the sound of it, because it would consist of lying to all her friends, but she did not really have a choice. She had always been trained to be Mossad before anything else.

"You have to discuss this with Father and get his consent before you even think of me helping you." She said with a tone of finality. She turned away and briskly headed to her room. "Good night, Ari. Lock the door on your way out."

She waited up in bed, until she finally heard the front door open and close a few hours later. It was then that she allowed her head to fall back on the pillow, and sleep to overtake her.

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It wasn't a cliff hanger so don't kill me! Haha. I hope you liked this chapter, since I wrote this in one shot. Therefore, my mind should be in fairly good order, and I think my chapter should be too;) I am actually quite satisfied with this chapter, but I haven't exactly built everything up yet, so please bear with me!

Reviews please? I'd love to know what you think!

Thanks for reading everyone;)

~Lianna