Blood is thicker than water. A saying with the meaning behind it that states that family allegiance comes before all else. Before religion, before beliefs, before government, family will and must precede and supersede everything. Family is an ionic bond that is stronger than diamonds and more powerful then a nuclear missile. But family does not have to be created through blood. Family does not necessarily mean that you can only be family by being blood-related. A true family is formed through honor, integrity, strength, and weakness. But family is not inseparable.
Families can be broken, shattered, destroyed, or simply scarred through various ways, such as death, greed, lust, jealousy, and betrayal. Gibbs's family formed at NCIS is an example of how families can be scarred. The 'death' of Tony caused a great deal of scarring on the family, almost enough to completely tear it apart. Only by being strong coworkers and being family for years were they able to just barely survive, but the same could not be said for Tony.
Betrayed, abandoned, and tossed away, Tony was thrown to the wolves at Mossad, then sent on a mission to assassinate Saleem in Somalia, which failed miserably, and ended up with him being tortured both mentally and physically for four months, only to be rescued by his new family, or at least, part of his soon-to-be new family.
It turned out that Eli hadn't actually sent Malachi and Liat on a mission to rescue Tony, but rather, Malachi and Liat rounded up one other Mossad officers and went on a search for Tony themselves. The other Mossad officer's name was Nava Caspi, an Israeli beauty with stunning facial features, raven-black hair that spread down slightly past her shoulders, a drop-dead gorgeous body (heh my girlfriend would probably get mad at me for saying that, but I love her more. Nava's got nothin' on my Olivia :P), and the most sensuous lips Tony had ever seen, or at least, second best.
When Tony first returned back to Mossad, he was surprised to see the respect he was receiving from the other Mossad officers. Apparently getting tortured by terrorists for Israel instantly made you the most respectable and earned yourself instant gratification, that was, assuming you actually lived. A sea of applause and hollers greeted him as he walked into Mossad headquarters, along with a myriad of surprised stares and shocked expressions. Accompanied by Malachi, Liat, and Nava, the four of them stepped into the elevator that would take them to Eli's office.
When the door to Eli's office opened, a smiling Eli sat there sipping a cup of tea. Nava closed the door behind her and stood awkwardly next to it, while Tony, Malachi, and Liat each took seats in front of Eli's desk.
"Tony, welcome back to Israel! I am very glad to hear and see that you are safe and away from that dreadful terrorist camp. Please, have a drink." Eli said, handing Tony a bottle of beer. Tony took the beer greedily from Eli and tipped his head back, drinking half the bottle in one swig. Eli chuckled as he eyed Nava, who was still standing by the door.
"Officer Caspi, please, have a seat. After all, you were part of the rescue mission of our friend Tony here." Eli said, gesturing towards the seat next to Tony's. Nava shuffled towards the leather chair that resided directly next to Tony's and sat down, her right arm brushing Tony's, causing her to turn a very, very, light shade of pink, something that did not go unnoticed by Eli.
"I must be honest with you, Tony. When you first came to me, I wanted nothing but for you to die, which was why I sent you on the mission to Somalia in hopes that you would die due to your lack of experience." Eli admitted, drawing an amused look from Tony.
"Am I sensing a 'however' in this?" Tony inquired, quoting the 'however' part with his fingers. Eli gave a genuine smile as he chuckled slightly. "Yes, there is a 'however' as you Americans say. However, I was wrong, you are not simply trash meant to be thrown away, you are much more valuable to me." Eli stated, drawing confused stares of awe from everyone.
"May I ask why the sudden change of heart?" Tony asked, not quite believing his ears that a man who wanted him dead just four months ago suddenly thought of him as valuable, whatever that was supposed to mean.
"You have strong determination, inner strength, and most of all, loyalty. Those are the qualities of any man or woman that I admire and cherish, as these are qualities that are very hard to find these days." Eli explained.
"What makes you think that I possess any of the qualities you just listed?" Tony asked, curious as to where Eli was coming from. Eli took a long sip from his tea, expecting Tony to figure it out himself. Malachi, Liat, and Nava certainly had, judging from the looks of disbelief they were giving Tony.
"Tony, you were just rescued from a terrorist camp after being tortured and interrogated for four months. When you got to the hospital, you were mere minutes from death. That alone shows that you have a great amount of inner strength. As for your determination and loyalty, your actions as a cop and federal agent in America speak for themselves, not to mention the fact that you didn't tell Saleem a word about anything. You also decided to go on the mission alone so Officers Gidon and Tuvia would survive. After all, with their injuries, there was virtually no chance they would survive. This speaks great lengths about you, and you too should realize this." Eli said, a flash of guilt washing over Eli as the extent of the damage done to Tony became clear to Eli after saying everything that happened to him over the four months of being a victim of torture. Tony remained silent for several minutes as flashbacks of the torture he received at Somalia ran through his head like a movie.
"How do you know that I didn't tell Saleem anything?" Tony inquired. Eli chuckled sadly as he took another sip of his tea. "If you had been broken and gave up information to Saleem, you would be dead already. He wouldn't have kept you alive for so long unless he was looking for information." Eli explained, receiving a nod of understanding from Tony, but no emotion. I shouldn't feel bad, but I do, and Tony is the reason why. This is a man that I witnessed go from a playful jokester who hides behind masks but does his job like a professional, to a cold and hardened man with no emotions. I should be excited, and I am, but I can't help but feel bad for Tony.
"So, Tony, where do you want to go from here? Would you like to stay here with us and learn the ways of Mossad, or would you like me to send you back to NCIS? It truly is up to you, I will not force a decision." Eli said. Everyone shuffled in their seats nervously as they watched Tony stare at Eli in shock. NCIS? Eli's really going to let me go back to NCIS, back home? No, I can't, I won't. I have to keep Ziva's best interests at heart, it's always been about her best interests, and that's not gonna change. I owe her that much. Besides, with Malachi and Liat here with me, maybe I can actually find the good in this, and create a new family, here, at Mossad. Family, a word that has remained unknown and gone to me for so long. I need it, and Mossad offers it.
"I want to stay here at Mossad. I want to know and learn everything there is you can offer." Tony answered. Everyone smiled brightly as Tony and Eli shook hands, symbolizing the beginning of something new, exciting, and life-changing for all of them, the photograph he used to carry around everywhere long forgotten.
NCIS
"Hey, Nava." Tony greeted as he strolled into the hotel room. Their current mission to kill Raul and Saleem was a success, and as they were about to load onto a plane for exfil, they received an urgent call from Eli telling them to stay in the United States. Apparently Eli received new intel from a Chinese contact that a PLA Special Operations Forces soldier, Xui Li Zhou, had gone rogue after his best friend was killed by another PLA soldier, and he was currently in the United States as a hired assassin. Since Eli owed the PLA a favor, he had Tony, Malachi, Liat, and Nava track down Xui Li based off intel from the Chinese contact that Xui Li was currently living in Washington DC. Malachi had purchased two hotel rooms adjacent to each other with a door connecting them so they could easily communicate. Tony and Nava were assigned one room, Malachi and Liat another room.
"Shalom, Tony." Nava replied nonchalantly. In the month that Tony had been with Mossad, he had become quite popular among the officers, and especially popular with the female officers. Mossad had healed some of the scars left by Somalia, being heart-broken, and being betrayed, to the point that Tony felt comfortable enough to be happy and have sexual feelings towards the other female officers, he even managed to heal enough to crack a joke here and there!
Nava tried not to stare as Tony stripped off his shirt. Through Tony's time in the terrorist camp and training at Mossad, Tony had initially lost a lot of weight, then put most of it back on in rock-hard muscle. Nava's resolve broke and she snuck a peek at Tony's 6-pack, resisting the urge to pounce on him like a tiger and ravage his body.
"Well, after dumpster-diving for an hour and acting like a hobo, I think I'm gonna need a shower." Tony announced before speeding into the bathroom, forgetting to close the door. Nava ignored the sexual and romantic fantasies she was having for Tony as she continued to watch the streets for any signs of Xui Li's presence. That is until 30 minutes later when she realized that Tony was still in the shower.
At first, she considered just yelling at him from her spot at the window, but thought better as she remembered that Tony still had a lot of healing to do, so she decided to take the soft approach. Nava got up from her seat by the window and tip-toed into the bathroom. Once she got in, she knew there was something wrong with Tony as he sat on the bottom of the bath tub while the water from the shower continued to rain over him, the shower curtain wide-open. Tony had his hands covering his face and his body was trembling slightly. There is no way he can be cold, the water coming from the shower is steaming hot. He must be crying. I have to comfort him.
"Tony? Are you alright?" Nava asked, ignoring the fact that Tony's entire wet nakedness was on full display for her. Tony looked up and locked eyes with Nava, his eyes red and swollen. "Sorry, I'll finish up now and take over your shift." Tony said hurriedly as he stood up abruptly, trying to hide the fact that he had been crying only moments later.
"Tony, what is wrong?" Nava asked more forcefully, stepping into the shower with Tony and turning his shoulders so that he was forced to face her. Tony shifted his gaze to the bottom of the tub, but Nava forced him to look her in the eye by gently holding his chin and lifting it. Tony let out a shaky breath as he stared into Nava's eyes, silently pleading to her to drop the subject. She wouldn't budge.
"DC brings...bad memories for me. Well, not bad memories...but...it hurts to be here." Tony responded, completely oblivious to the fact that Nava was still fully clothed and that she was completely drenched at this point.
"Why?" Nava asked, stroking Tony's cheek in a more comforting way then a sexual hint. Tony hesitated for a moment, but gave Nava an answer, "DC is where I used to work, NCIS. I worked at NCIS for a good 8 years, and over that span of time, I created...a family. Gibbs was like a father to me, McGee was like my little brother, Abby was like my little sister, Ducky was my grandfather, Jimmy was like a cousin, and Ziva..." Tony trailed off, a lump getting stuck in his throat.
"I know what Ziva said to you outside of Mossad headquarters the day you were left in Tel Aviv." Nava said, trying to get Tony to open up. After much convincing, Nava managed to get Malachi to tell her what words were exchanged between Tony and Ziva, and it broke her heart to know that Tony had his heart so ruthlessly broken. Tony stared at Nava in horror, his eyes wide with shock and his mouth agape.
"Was that what you were crying about? Ziva?" Nava asked, moving her hand to gently rest on Tony's chest. Tony nodded hesitantly as tears began to slip from his eyes once more. "I loved her, so much, and I still do. But, it hurts so much to know that she never felt the same way about me, and she never will. She hates me right now, and I doubt she even cares what happens to me. I don't think she would shed a tear if I were to die and she were at my funeral. Hell, I don't even think she even would show up to my funeral." Tony said sadly, resting his forehead against Nava's. The two of them stared deep into each other's eyes, the sexual and romantic tension between them seeking release. Then Nava took a leap of faith. Nava gently placed her lips against Tony's, and Tony immediately responded. Their lips danced the dance of love as clothes from Nava's body gradually began to fall to the bathroom floor, and soon enough, a series of moans from both Tony and Nava followed.