Again, thank you to the wonderful folks who reviewed the last chapter. You dudes rock!

I don't even own the goldfish…it died.

Picking up from where we left off:

Tim, Tony, and Jimmy watched as adults stopped to talk to the other children. They had to cover up their laughter as they watched the woman try to approach Abby, Kate, and Ziva.

"That's gotta be a good sign," Jimmy said decidedly. "Our plan'll work too!"

"I think it will!" Tim said.

Tony, though, was having other thoughts. As he watched a little boy be picked up, smiling, by what would obviously be his new father, he felt a little guilty. If it came down to it, he wondered if he would have to let Tim and Jimmy be adopted without him. He chewed his lip and hoped, for the first time, that someone would come and look at them. His brothers deserved a better life.

Ziva scowled as she stared out the window again, watching the moon sinking lower and lower on the horizon. Not only was she back on the train, but the only person to even spare them a glance that day had been the woman who only wanted one child. She glanced over her shoulder, to where Kate and Abby were both asleep. She made up her mind then and there, if no one came and considered adopting all of them tomorrow, she would give up on her part of the plan and try to get herself out of the way. The chances of two girls being adopted together were much greater than all three.

"Psst!"

She jumped, pulled out of her thoughts by the voice.

"Psst! Ziva! It's me, Tony!" sure enough, she could see Tony waving at her from three rows back. The only other person awake.

"What is it, Tony?" she asked. He glanced around, making sure everyone else was asleep, then stood up from his seat and moved quickly across the aisle to sit directly behind her in a seat that had been left empty by adopted children.

"I just wanted someone to talk to. We're the only people awake so…"

"I see. How did you three do today? Did anyone come to see you?"

"No, no one on our end. How about you?"

"Just one scarily large woman that considered Kate and Abby for a moment. Our plan worked."

"Oh yeah, I saw that. Pretty funny."

"Yes, her face was rather expensive after Kate snapped at her," Ziva said, giggling.

Tony looked at her, confused for a moment. "Oh! I think you meant priceless. Her face was priceless."

"Same difference," she said, rolling her eyes. They both stayed quiet for a moment. Looking out the window again, she smiled ruefully. "There are only four more stops, and neither of our families are making out well," she commented.

"That's true," he admitted. "I've been giving it some thought lately, more than I have in a while."

"As have I," Ziva said. "I just do not want one of the three of us left alone."

"Yeah, same here. I don't want Tim or Jimmy alone in some strange house, or if I get adopted, I don't want them going back to the orphanage alone. Jimmy acts like a bully-magnet and Tim and I have made enough enemies to make me worry about him," Tony said, glancing back at the two younger boys.

Ziva nodded. "I have the same feelings. Orphanages are dangerous places for young girls." She looked so depressed and alone, and his heart went out to her, just like it had to Tim and Jimmy when he had first met them.

Tony sighed sadly, wanting to help her but still wanting to protect his own little "family". Suddenly, he shot upright.

"I have an idea!"

She looked at him, smirking like he was crazy. "And what is this idea of yours?" she asked.

"Let's stick together," he said. "Like, merge our two groups. We all get along, and this way the chances of at least two of us getting adopted together are huge! At least no one would be alone."

She looked at him for a moment, considering her options. For her to agree would to basically be giving up all hope of her and her three "sisters" being adopted together, but what were the chances of that really happening, anyway? She chewed her lip. "It sounds like a good idea," she said slowly. "But I will have to run it by Kate and Abby in the morning. The chances of all of us getting adopted together are miniscule, though. You run a great risk of being separated from Tim and Jimmy. And I run a great risk of being separated from Kate and Abby."

"But this way, none of us are alone," he said. "Think about it. Then come and talk to me next time we're let off the train." He got up and went back to his seat.

Ziva sighed again and returned to looking out the window, the new choice weighing heavily on her mind.

"Are you crazy?" Kate gasped, looking at Ziva like she had lost her marbles. "What happened to the three of us being adopted together?"

"Kate, be quiet. We cannot have this conversation in front of Abby and she is still asleep," Ziva said patiently.

"Ziva, we can't join groups with them. We're all going to be adopted together!" Kate said, quieter this time. "Us three. Just like we always planned."

"Kate, what are the chances of that happening?" Ziva asked, crossing her arms. "What if one of us had to go alone? Would you want that? At least this way, the chances of us being adopted with a friend go up some."

Kate glared out the window for a moment. "Fine. But we're still trying."

Tony looked around expectantly while he, Tim, and Jimmy were waiting to be lined up. Finally, he caught sight of Ziva and her "family" coming towards them.

"Well?" he asked.

"We will "join up" with you, as you put it, but we will still try to be adopted with just us three. We will not try to be adopted as a whole group."

Tony nodded in understanding, looking at Kate, who was glaring hatefully at him. "I get it. I just don't want my little brothers to be alone."

Kate's look softened a bit. But she still glared. She didn't like Tony much, now that he had put the whole idea into Ziva's head and had made her pretty much give up hope of being adopted with her and Abby.

Abby, on the other hand, was delighted to see her new friends again. "TIMMY! JIMMY! TONY!" She squealed, hugging all of them. She sat down on the ground and pulled Tim down with her. She wasn't very strong, but he went along with it anyways. Jimmy soon followed, and Abby busied herself teaching them little hand games she knew.

Ziva and Tony chatted for a bit while Kate glared on, though her anger soon dissipated as a ten-year-old's usually does and she joined in the conversation. When they were lined up, the six stayed together and Kate had to admit, for the first time, she wasn't worried beyond belief that they would be separated. She was too busy talking with her friends, and for some reason, she felt that everything would work out. She didn't know how wrong she was.