(NCIS – Conference Room)
"I want to take her back to Israel." It was a statement, not a suggestion or question.
Gibbs stared darkly at his opponent, "Too bad that this won't happen."
"You cannot keep me from taken my under-aged daughter with me." Eli scoffed.
"So he has manipulated documents," Gibbs silently noted. "And then what? Sooner or later she'll return to her old self. The one that doesn't want to have anything to do with you anymore."
"You do not know that!"
Gibbs smirked, "Her calling you by the first name gives me a pretty good reason to believe that." He watched Eli's face closely, which the other man carefully had schooled into a stony expression, "Not to mention that she told me so..."
"She might think so at the moment..."
"You believe that she'll come around?" The team leader interrupted casually, wanting to provoke his dialogue partner a bit.
Eli's lips curled into the tiniest of smiles, "Not instantly. No. Therefore she is far too stubborn... It will take her time..."
Gibbs shook his head, a barely noticeable sad smile on his lips at the other man's delusion. Even though, Gibbs was still conflicted about what he was going to do next, he knew that it was the only way things might work out - for both sides...
"Listen, it doesn't matter what I think about you. It doesn't even matter what Ziva thought about you. Right now, there's a little girl, who knows nothing about what happened the past few years. She only has the memories of things which happened over twenty years ago. That little girl - Ziva - she adores you... misses you... And if I have to suck my anger up to make this work, then so it be..."
"See, squeaky clean, again." Tony wrapped a towel around Ziva, before leading her into her room. "What do you want to wear, today? Maybe some stylish mini-soldier-uniform or something sparkling, which alerts everyone hundred feet away from you..."
Mini-Ziva giggled at his silliness. The unexpected and emotionally draining encounter from earlier nearly forgotten that moment. "I want this!" She pulled a deep purple sweatshirt out of the closet.
Tony lifted an eyebrow and scanned the content of said closet, "Alright... You know, you have more clothes than me!"
"No do!" Ziva laughed next tot him, showing off her teeth.
"Black pants?" He smiled and held out a pair of cargo's. Ziva nodded and took the garment from him, quickly putting them on.
Ten minutes later she was dressed once more and Tony had pulled her still somewhat wet hair into a loose ponytail. "Okay, we got you fed, well rested and clean..."
Ziva gave him a strange look, "You no clean..." she deadpanned.
"You telling me I need a shower?" Tony looked mock-insulted at her.
"UH HUH!" Mini-Ziva exclaimed smiling, before breaking out into a fit of giggles.
"Aww, bug. " Tony threw his hands into the air, smiling nonetheless. He sniffed his arm pit, "... I guess I could use a shower..."
Ziva nodded, having a hard time not to laugh out aloud again.
"Alright, I'll go get cleaned up and be back in a few minutes. You'll be okay till then?"
The little girl bit her bottom lip. She hadn't thought about being alone..
"If you want me to stay..."
"Nuhu! You nee's bath!" Ziva gave him a cheeky grin.
"But I don't want to..." Tony whined, causing Mini-Ziva to laugh, again.
While the teenager was taking a much needed shower, Ziva had retreated to the living room, watching cartoons.
She had nearly forgotten her fear of someone walking into the house, when the front door slowly was opened.
Ziva froze momentarily, before she jumped off the couch and hid next to the green furniture, hoping not to be spotted by whoever was just entering the house.
"You have a nice house, Agent Gibbs."
Gibbs shrugged, a small smile tugging on his lips as he closed the front door behind Eli, "It's no mansion..."
Eli laughed, "Sometimes smaller is better and makes one feel more at home..."
In her hiding spot, Ziva's eyes widened as she heard Gibbs' and her father's voice.
"True," Gibbs answered, frowning as he saw the TV on. He cast a glance at Eli, who had also noticed the running TV.
Silently they walked into the room. Gibbs was the first to spot Ziva crouching next to the couch.
"Hey Ziva," he carefully and quietly greeted his shrunken agent, absentmindedly noticing how her breathing pattern quickened at his words.
Gibbs' comment also alerted Eli of his daughter's position. Seeing her squat in a corner, created by couch and wall, he felt a wave of sadness wash over him.
-"Shalom, precious."- he whispered in Hebrew.
Ziva's eyes darted from Gibbs to Eli and back. Her fear of them evident in her eyes. Both men wisely kept their distant from her, letting Ziva decide if and when she wanted them near her or not.
"It's okay, Ziv." Gibbs quietly started to try to convince her to come out, eliciting a frown from Eli at the use of 'Ziv'.
Mini-Ziva slowly shook her head, pressing herself even further into the corner.
-"We're sorry that we scared you earlier. Please come out, I haven't seen you in weeks. My precious little baby girl."-
Ziva's eyes watered at her father's word. Her mouth opening slightly, without any words coming out.
Gibbs looked at Eli, wondering what he had said to Ziva to cause such a reaction, "We won't fight anymore."
The little girl regarded Gibbs and her father, her features slowly starting to relax as her eyes pleaded with them, "Pwomi'z? You fwriend?" Her accent and fear making her words come out even more distorted than normal.
Both men plastered smiles on their faces and nodded. They would never be friends but they were willing to let Ziva believe so, if that meant she would trust both of them again.
Mini-Ziva slowly scrambled to her feet, still looking a bit insecure.
"You have grown," Eli commented with a smile, acting as if he hadn't seen her for the past few weeks and if her state was completely normal to him, keeping exactly to what he had agreed upon with Gibbs.
Ziva smiled shyly, -"Your hair is gray and you got wrinkles like grandpa!"-
Eli laughed and squatted down a few feet in front of her, opening his arms in which Ziva all too willingly ran into, after a few moments of just starring at his posture, -"I've missed you, precious."-
-"Missed ya too, daddy!"- Ziva whispered, hugging him with all her might.
-"You should go to him, I think he needs a hug, too..."- Eli whispered after a while in which
Gibbs had silently watched as the pair embraced.
For the team leader, the scene in front of him was enough proof that he had made the right choice in letting the two of them be together. Even though, he had conflicted feelings about their use of Hebrew. It left him clueless of their conversation and also Eli had seemed to have accepted the fact that Ziva wouldn't return with him - no matter what - but that he at least was allowed to spent some time with her, Gibbs couldn't help but feel a bit on edge.
~ Flashback ~
Eli stared at the written document in from of him, "I did not think that would have been necessary, Agent Gibbs."
The team leader shrugged, "You want near her, you sign this agreement."
"I must admit that I envy your ability to trust me. If the table were to be turned I would not know if I could do this." Eli smirked.
"That's what the contract is for." Gibbs gruffly replied, handing him a pen out of the pocket of his jacket.
"Very well," Eli, with a single smooth motion, put his signature underneath the text, before he slid the paper across the table to Gibbs, who signed it also.
~ Flashback end ~
"'ibbs?" Ziva's voice brought Gibbs back to reality.
The team leader cast a quick glance at Eli before he looked down at Ziva, gently picking her up.
Immediately, Ziva wrapped her arms around his neck, studying his face intently. "You o'tay?"
Gibbs smiled at her worried expression, "Yeah. I'm just glad that you feel better. You do, right?"
Mini-Ziva nodded, giving him a beaming smile, "Can I show aba my room?"
"Sure," Gibbs briefly looked at Eli, silently daring him to upset Ziva, "I'm sure he'll like that." He gave Ziva a quick peck on the cheek before setting her down.
Eli's and Gibbs' gaze met once again, silently communicating, before Eli took his daughter's hand and let himself be led upstairs.
~ TBC ~