Chapter 5—

A/N: Okay, so there was a slight mix-up with the last chapter. This is only applicable to the people who read this story on tumblr, but they accidentally got the unedited version of Chapter 4, which actually had a different ending. So, tumblr people, ignore what you read at the end of the last chapter, it was an error, the subject of which will arise in Chapter 6. This is the ending you were intended to read:

"You gotta learn to trust people." Feeling brave, he reached out and touched her shoulder. Remarkably, she let him.

"I do not know how," she admitted. "Not anymore." Her eyes fell to the floor and her head was tilted forward. Her curls fell in front of her eyes and carefully, he brushed them away.

"Let's start with trusting me, huh? How 'bout I make you dinner? And Tali. Say, Saturday? I can cook, you know. You look like you haven't had a good Italian feed in too long." His smile then was light. He was trying, more than anything else, to make her happy.

"I would like that." She decided that he was right. She did need to start trusting people.

...

They did not see each other until the agreed-upon dinner day. As the time grew nearer, Ziva found herself anxious in a way that she had not been in a long time.

She was, of course, anxious all the time. She was anxious of what scary faces would greet her when she walked into a party, ready to entertain. She was anxious of failing Tali, always. But those feelings were the polar opposite of what she felt now. A nice man was coming to cook dinner for them. The only people that had cooked a meal for the David sisters for the past four years were the Wong family who owned the Chinese takeout on the next block and perhaps a pimply fifteen-year-old working at McDonalds.

Her senses were telling her she was crazy. She barely knew this man and yet something inside of her was screaming for her to trust him, to give in to him, to let him help in whatever way they can. But so much of her told her otherwise; told her that nobody could possibly want to help someone like her. That she was not worth all this. No man made dinner for Ziva David without wanting something in return. A relentless reign over her or her body, usually. Nothing gets you nothing. Except with Tony, it seemed that was not the case.

And he was sweet for everything he was giving them, doing for them, but in the same way that he was an angel, he was certainly a devil, too. For the first time in years, someone was offering to help her carry a load that she had learned to bear in a fine balance. Having him there was making her realise how very tired she was. How badly she really needed that help. How badly she missed friendship and companionship and all that she had had before losing her mother. Contact with friends from high school deteriorated after not long. Even the neighbours that had once offered up friendly hallway conversation just gave Ziva a look as if she had been defeated, and as if they all knew where she snuck off to during the cold nights. She felt guilty for that.

She spent so much time thinking about Tali and how to keep their little lives afloat that she rarely had a moment to spare to think about what it was that she wanted. She would not have it any other way if that meant Tali could be happy, but she knew that this was not true. Tali seemed lonesome. They both were, to tell the truth. Losing a mother as young as she did, after losing a father as well...that does things to a little girl. She was secluded and spent much of her time studying and reading. Ziva could understand why she read so many books. She was rarely caught without a book in her hand. This was so that reality was always easy to escape from – a whole new universe was available at the turn of every page. To a little girl with nothing, maybe living out the lives of her dreams would help her feel better about her own life, even if only for a little while. For Tali, Ziva did everything she could, but for Tali to be truly happy would be a goal not easily achieved.

The two sisters had always been close, but since being left on their own, there had been tension. They had both become more reserved, but especially Ziva, who feared upsetting her sister so much that she rarely talked about anything that was not completely necessary, and she was swamped with guilt by that fact but she couldn't risk damaging whatever functioning relationship they had. Not only for Tali's sake, but for her own. It was all too often forgotten, but Ziva was very much alone, too. She needed her sister as much as her sister needed her. Companionship was a rare and wondrous thing in a world that could be so blatantly cruel – Ziva had learned in her short life that one should hold onto it for life and death.

But now perhaps the strain would ease on their relationship, if he would be there to balance everything out. But would he? Or did the promise of dinner mean that and that alone? Surely not, after pursuing her so determinedly?

She sighed and rubbed her temples as she waited in her kitchen. It was 5 PM, Saturday afternoon, and these same questions had been running through her head for days.

Could she let her guard down a little? Could she relax? Could she even trust him?

She looked over at Tali, who was engrossed in a book. She was sprawled out across the couch, her curls, the mirror image of her own, hanging over the armrest. She wore an old, paint-stained T-shirt that had belonged to her mother a million years ago, her good jeans and her very, very worn out Chuck Taylors. Ziva watched her for a moment, as her eyes darted back and forth, taking in every detail, every word. She hated to interrupt her when she was mid-story, but time was running short.

"Come, Tali, you have to get ready," she said gently. "Tony will be here soon."

"You mean the guy I wasn't supposed to let in?" Tali looked up from her book with a frown. Her voice was filled with sarcasm.

"You understand why I was upset about that, don't you? Strangers can sometimes be dangerous. We have to be careful with these things. I just don't want you getting –"

"Hurt, I know," Tali finished, standing up and snapping her book shut. "But can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Do we like Tony? I mean, is he one of those strangers we can trust?"

"He is not a stranger, Tali. He is...a friend."

"Then why not let him in the house?"

"Well, he is a new friend." There was hardly a good way to explain this all to her.

"Do you see him there?" she asked, suddenly barely audible.

"Do I see him where?"

"Wherever you go at night."

Ziva froze and gulped and tried to speak but she simply couldn't. Tali knew. Tali had known for a while. That thought alone was terrifying to her.

Tali shrugged and went off to their room to change.

"Tali, wait," Ziva called. The little girl stopped and obediently came back to stand in front of her sister, who embraced her tightly. "Don't change. You...you look beautiful as you are." Ziva ran a hand over her sister's pink cheek.

"You don't have to feel bad," Tali replied. "I know you have a good reason for doing the things you do."

"Of course I do," Ziva said, wrapping her arms around Tali once more. "It's you, tateleh.