Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or NCIS. I can't think up anything witty to add to that today.

Rating: PG (nothing vulgar in this chapter)

A/N: So, I know many of you want to kill me right now, and I apologize for that. I should have had more time to write while I was in London or over the summer, but it seems that even though I had the time, I did not have the motivation. So, the motivation has returned with the new season of NCIS (which is awesome, by the way), so I have written, while I should have been doing Biology and Chemistry homework, but oh well. Hope you like this new chapter, and I apologize if my writing is a little off for Ziva. I really couldn't get her voice down very well as I was writing this, and she kept turning into my character from my book, which is a totally different person. Oh well. And sorry if this chapter doesn't go very far. I felt the first couple of chapters rushed, so I wanted to slow down a bit and really take the time to develop her relationship with the other characters. And thank you to Magician Girl Mirani, .silver-fishy., Hypnotized Angel, ohgravitysonfire, TomorrowNeverCame, Kuroi In a Black Hole, Silvergrass, Mwhahahaha18, Robert1000, ita-chan01, ranae-ultor, MeldaTavar, Angel of the Night Watchers, KidonDarkAngel, The Fabulous Mrs Cole Turner, asreal, Sarifina85, Casperace13, and Infinite Freedom for reviewing, and to all the rest of you out there for favouriting this story and adding it to your alerts. You guys really do keep me writing, especially because I feel guilty when you guys review and I don't update. Thanks so much!

Enjoy!

~Lady Ryn


Luckily for Ziva, Elrond was busy with Frodo for the next week, first healing him, then monitoring his progress. Still, she tried to stay under the radar for those days, feeling very much like she was back in the bullpen trying to avoid Gibbs after going against his wishes. Those thoughts made her start missing home again though, so she pushed them quickly out of her mind.

Most of her time she spent with the horses, taking turns taking both Asfaloth and Sarnie out of the pasture and grooming them so that their coats gleamed, then letting them back out into pasture. Though her favourite was still the stallion, Sarnie was starting to grow on her, especially after their gallop across half of Middle Earth to find the hobbit and bring him back. She was a good-hearted mare who wanted to do everything she could to please people. Asfaloth, on the other hand, had more personality, but that also meant he was much more stubborn and unwilling to cooperate.

It was on one of those many times when she stood in the barn, Sarnie tied to the tie rail as she groomed her, that she was startled by a soft voice.

"You're that lady from the forest, aren't you?" Ziva turned quickly, surprised she had not heard the owner of the voice earlier, and was greeted by the sight of two young hobbits. The one who had spoken was the darker haired of the two, and she recognized him as the hobbit she had mistaken as Frodo back in the forest with Aragorn.

"Excuse me?" Ziva asked, pushing back a lock of hair from her face.

"After that elf took Frodo, you're the lady who rode in asking about Frodo, aren't you?"

Petting Sarnie's nose as the mare turned to look at the two hobbits, Ziva nodded. "Yes, that was me. Gandalf had told us that Frodo and Sam were travelling from the Shire, and I had followed Arwen who had been sent out to find them. What happened to Frodo?"

The darker haired hobbit walked forward and also pet the mare's soft velvet nose. "He was stabbed, by one of those black riders." He sniffed, but didn't look away from the horse in front of him. "It was our fault really. We shouldn't have started that fire."

"It drew them straight to us." Ziva's eyes shifted to the lighter haired hobbit as he spoke, drawing nearer.

"Is he doing alright?" Ziva felt strongly protective of these smaller hobbits, and truly felt bad about the guilt that was apparently eating at them about their friend.

"Lord Elrond says he is going to be ok. Thank you," the lighter haired hobbit said, "for saving him."

Ziva shook her head. "Arwen did most of the work, I just brought him the last foot."

Both hobbits looked at her inquisitively, but didn't ask. "Thank you anyways," the darker haired hobbit finally said, stilling his petting of Sarnie.
"Lord Elrond said that if it had taken him any longer to get here, he wouldn't have been able to be healed, and the elf, Arwen, said your coming in at the time you did saved his life."

"I could not let him die, nor let Arwen fight those wraiths alone." Ziva tried to smile at both hobbits, and stood awkwardly, smoothing out some of the raised hairs on Sarnie's mane. Deciding to change the subject and try to change their melancholy mood she asked, "Is either of you Sam?"

Both shook their heads and the lighter haired one spoke up, "Sam's with Frodo. He won't leave his side, and we really needed to get out of the hospital ward for a while. I'm Meriadoc Brandybuck, but you can call me Merry."

"And I'm Peregrin Took, but you can call me Pippin. What's your name?" the darker haired hobbit, Pippin, asked, his speech speeding up the more he spoke.

"My name is Ziva David. It is a pleasure to meet you," Ziva responded, inclining her head a bit as she had learned in these parts.

"Is this your horse?" Pippin asked, petting Sarnie's nose again, his attention away from Ziva.

"No, unfortunately. She is a wonderful horse though. She is Arwen's. As is Asfaloth, the horse she was riding when you saw her." Ziva absent-mindedly patted the mare's grey neck as Pippin giggled when Sarnie butted his chest with her nose and starting checking his pockets. Ziva smiled. "She is looking for treats. Arwen spoils her quite a lot. Would you like to give her some?"

"Yes!" Pippin's eyes lit up, and he followed her into the tack room and over towards a jar. Ziva pulled the lid off and reached in, grabbing a few cookie-like treats that smelled of oats and molasses. Merry came up beside Pippin to look in, both their faces lighting up at the smell of food. "You can both give her some. Just make sure you keep your hand flat and your fingers out of the way. You do not want her to get your fingers."

"Thank you!" they both said in unison and ran out of the tack room and over to the waiting horse. Pippin first, they both fed the large horse the sweet treats, giggling as her whiskers tickled their hands.

"She's so gentle," Merry said, patting the muscular neck.

"A gentle giant," Ziva responded, walking up behind them and keeping on eye on them. Their guilt seemed to have melted off as they played with the horse, and Ziva had to admit they reminded her very much of her and her sister when they were younger, though she guessed the two hobbits were of closer age than her and her sister had been. Unlike the twins, Elrohir and Elladin, the two were still innocent in the ways of war and death and still had the same playfulness and love of life that had disappeared in Ziva once her sister had been killed and she had joined Mossad. It was also the one thing that the team had begun to bring out in her again. She smiled, remembering the prank wars she had had with Tony during the stakeout, something she never would have done with Mossad.

She was jolted out of her thoughts by a nicker from Sarnie as she continued to search the hobbits' pockets once the treats were gone, and the barn aisle was filled with their giggling as her whiskers tickled them.

With a pat on the mare's broad back, Ziva asked, "Would you like to help me groom her?"

With vigorous nods, they both turned to look at her, expectant looks on their upturned faces as they had to look up to the woman. Though not very tall, she still towered over the tiny hobbits. Reaching into the grooming basket, she pulled out two soft brushes, handing them to the two hobbits. The brushes were much larger than their hands, but both were able to grasp them with both hands.

"Alright, just brush with the hair," Ziva said, guiding Pippin's brush over Sarnie's steely coat. "There you go."

Merry came to stand up beside Pippin, both brushing as high up as they could, which wasn't much higher than midway up her belly.

Suddenly, almost out of the blue, Pippin asked Ziva, without looking at her, "Are you an elf?"

Ziva shook her head, then, realizing they couldn't see her, answered, "No, I am human. Just a resident of this house."

More conversation was interrupted when a shout came through the grounds, reaching the barn. "Frodo's awake!"

"Frodo!" Pippin and Merry exclaimed, launching their brushes into the basket and running out of the barn and out of sight.

"Well, that is a good sign, is it not?" Ziva said to Sarnie, picking up a brush that had bounced out of the basket and finishing brushing her. Once gleaming, she untied her, leading her back towards the pasture and releasing her with her herd mates, then made her way back towards the house. She figured she had avoided Elrond long enough, and with Frodo awake now, he would have more time to find her. As she approached the house, she watched Arwen come out, wiping her hands on her dress.

"I heard Frodo was awake," Ziva said, drawing the elf's attention to her. Arwen nodded.

"Just awoke, and is moving around and seems to be doing well. I see you've been avoiding my ada," she said, a smile creeping up on her face.

"He has been busy, but yes, I have. And I want to thank you, for standing up for me. You did not have to do that." Ziva kept her head down, brushing off some of the dirt on her pants.

"I'm guessing you heard that from the masters Merry and Pippin. They are very good at eavesdropping. And you deserved the standing up for, Ziva. You really did save Frodo's life, and mine. That wraith was closing in on us, and most likely would have gotten us if you had not stabbed him."

"Ziva!" Their conversation was interrupted by Elrond's deep voice echoing in the courtyard. Ziva kept herself from flinching and looked up, meeting the half-elf's eyes and not liking the anger she saw in them. Arwen patted her shoulder as she walked by and away from the steps, Ziva going the opposite direction and following the Lord's retreating back. Once she stepped into his office, he shut the door behind them. Motioning to one of the chairs in front of his desk, he sat down behind it.

"What were you thinking?" His voice, though soft, was steely, and Ziva barely repressed the urge to shiver. "You went after Arwen after I had specifically told you not to, running into a situation you were not even remotely prepared for. You are a guest of this house, and don't think for a moment that I would not revoke your title of guest and ask you to leave."

"For going after your daughter?" Ziva's voice held strong, and her gaze never wavered. "I am sorry, Lord Elrond, but I have lost too many people in my life to let someone I care about go out into a dangerous situation without any back up when I have a chance to help them. I truly appreciate everything you have done for me, but I felt that that disobedience was justified. If you do not, then let me leave right now."

Elrond sighed, rubbing his temples. "Ziva, you have become an important part of this household, and both my sons and my daughter have really come to care for and respect you, and, I won't lie, so have I." At this, he leaned forward, resting his forearms on his desk and looking Ziva straight in the eye. "There are things in this world, however, that are not what you are used to, and the reason for me trying to keep you from doing things is not because I do not trust you, nor because I enjoy making you suffer. It is because I do not want you to rush headlong into a situation that you think you are prepared for, but you indeed are not. Those wraiths, though they may look human, are not, and that is what I was trying to protect you from."

Ziva nodded, smiling slightly. "I understand, Lord Elrond, and I appreciate your concern. But I do not like to be…what is the word…coddled."

With a grin breaking across his face, though slight, Elrond sat up, leaning against the back of the chair.

"And I am truly beginning to see that." Standing up, he leaned against his desk. "You can go now, and you don't need to worry about avoiding me anymore." At Ziva's look of surprise, the smile returned. "I know a lot more than you think."

Ziva inclined her head, standing, then retreated out of the office. Onec the door was shut behind her, she leaned up against it, a soft thunk being heard as her head fell back against the wood. With a shake of her head, and a sigh of relief, she pushed herself off and moved away and into the main part of Rivendell. Inclining her head at those elves she recognized, she headed towards a pair of ornately carved tall doors. Entering, she closed her eyes as the smell of old books reached her nose and she breathed in deeply.

"Oh, library, how I have missed you." The one place she knew Elrond would look for her would have been this library, one of her givers of immense pleasure since she had found it not long after she had arrived. Rows and rows of bookshelves lined the walls, filled with histories of this world and the races who dwelled in it. Though histories, the stories entranced her because she had never heard of any of them. McGee would be in swine heaven, she thought with a smile as she headed towards one of the bookshelves, pulling one of the older stories of the elves out.

"She emerges." With a jump, she turned, and met the amused eyes of the one and only Aragorn.

"You know this would have been the first place Lord Elrond would have searched for me," she said, hugging the book to her chest and walking to sit next to Aragorn on the bench.

"Followed by the practice fields," Aragorn added with a smile, closing his own book to turn towards Ziva. "So you admit you were avoiding Elrond?"

"Even I must run from a fight sometimes," she responded with a slight raising of one corner of her lip.

Aragorn scrutinized her from his position a few feet away. "You know, I never would have taken you to be interested in books."

Ziva shook her head. "Nor would I of you. But it is one of my guilty pleasures. One my friends at home really did not know about."

With a nod, Aragorn pushed some of his hair out of his face. "It is good to see you again Ziva."

Ziva smiled. "And you too. It has been too long."

Aragorn shook his head. "Indeed it has. Middle Earth has become much more perilous these past few years, and the orcs have become bolder."

Ziva sighed. "I know, and I can see that just from the few months I have been here. Elrohir and Elladin were called away to an orc problem not long ago."

"A common occurrence. We rangers need all the help we can get."

The two sat in silence, Ziva staring off into space as Aragorn stared unseeing at the cover of his book. "This is an unfortunate time for you to have come Ziva. The elves are leaving and the land is raised in upheaval over a rising evil."

"It is still a beautiful land," Ziva responded, bringing her eyes back to her companion. "I wish I could see more of it, and help in bringing peace to it."

"You wish to help bring peace to a land that is not even yours to fight for?" Aragorn asked, meeting her eyes with a flicker of surprise.

"The fight against evil is not a new fight for me, Aragorn, so yes, I do wish to help, no matter where that evil is. I have seen what evil can do to people's lives, and I would wish to stop that from happening as much as I can."

Aragorn's eyes softened. "You speak as one from experience."

"We get much experience in evil in Israel," she responded, her eyes falling to look upon her book's cover as well.

Silence reigned in the library for a while, until Aragorn finally decided to break the silence. "Come, I interrupted you from doing what you came here to do, so I will leave you to your book." As Aragorn stood up to leave, Ziva stayed him with her hand.

"You can stay, Aragorn, I do not mind. I interrupted you too."

Aragorn smiled, and sat back down upon the bench, opening up his book, and beginning to read again. Ziva's eyes dropped back down to her book, and she cracked open the cover, delicately turning the pages to the beginning, and letting herself get immersed in the world in front of her.