Eli David couldn't tear his eyes from his shrunken daughter as she led him upstairs. Over the years he had forgotten how innocent and pure she had acted as a kid.

-"Daddy, you aren't listening!"- Ziva stomped her foot and crossed her arms over her small chest. A look of annoyance on her face.

Eli chuckled and put a hand on her head, stroking her hair, -"I'm sorry, precious. I will listen closely now, yes? Do you mind telling me, again?"-

Mini-Ziva's scowl turned into a bright smile. -"I said that 'ibbs let me sleep in his room first and Tony in the guest room!"-

-"Oh, and where did Gibbs slept then?"-

-"On the couch! But now I have my own room, like at home and Tony has the roof as room!"-

-"The roof?"- Eli chuckled. -"You mean the attic?"-

Ziva smiled shyly, "Uh huh..."

Eli looked past his daughter, at the door behind her. Several drawings, obviously made by Ziva adorned it, while some bright colored letters, sitting right above the paintings, spelled her name out.

-"Is this your room, precious?"-

Still grinning widely, the little girl nodded and opened the door, pulling her father with her as she entered the room.

-"It's not big, like at home. But I like it!"- Ziva explained, looking expectantly at Eli, who shook his head in amusement.

-"That's because our house is bigger."- Eli gently reminded her with a smile, his gaze drifting through the room afterward.

Though, Ziva interrupted his action soon, -"I, 'ibbs and Tony went to a big..."- she opened her arms wide in order to show her father what she meant -"shop. It was full of couches, seats an' beds."- She grinned -"But we no bought them."- Mini-Ziva furrowed her brows. A thought hitting her, -"OH! Tony bought a bed!"-

Eli laughed at his daughter's enthusiasm, -"I guess this whole arrangement was a bit sudden and Agent Gibbs wasn't all to well prepared to take you in."-

-"No, he didn't even had TOYS"- Ziva complained in mock, only children were able to express.

-"I'm sure you changed this quickly?"-

Mini-Ziva nodded and pointed to where all, or at least most of her toys where stored. -"See! All mine!"-

Eli chuckled, carefully lowering himself into one of the small chairs in Ziva's room. -"Gibbs must have chosen a bed for you, too, sine I'm sure he hadn't such a small bed before you lived with him..." He regarded her bed with a frown.

Ziva shook her head, smiling, -"I picked it out!"-

-"You?"-

The little girl nodded enthusiastically, -"'ibbs let me pick it out!"-

-"That was very nice of him."-

-"I picked the rest, too!"- Ziva said excitedly, throwing her arms up. -"Wait! I show you!"- She giggled as she ran to her toy box. She lifted the lid open and began to pull out her toys, before picking up the first and running back to her father in order to give it to him.

Eli took the toy and peered at it. -"It is a fish..."-

"Nu-huuuu! -It's a dolphin!-" Mini-Ziva said with a laugh before running back to her box. Soon Eli was surrounded by various stuffed toys, each of them with a name and a personality.

Once done showing her toys, Ziva then started to pull out all of her dressing up clothes. Holding up her vampire costume, she began to explain to her father what it was. -"We dress up for Hallo'een and we had a party and... I bit 'ibbs!"-

Eli laughed and watched as his daughter put the costume back down, before picking up another. Though, she didn't went through with her movement and instead led the garment drop back onto the floor, before she turned to face him.

-"Aba..."- Ziva suddenly started, having gone from happy to sad within in a blink of the eye, -"Why couldn't I say goodbye to Mommy, Ari and Tali?"-

Eli sighed, -"There was no time, precious."-

-"But,"- Mini-Ziva's eyes filled with tears, -"I miss them! I didn't even say goodbye!"-

Gibbs watched Ziva and Eli till they were out of his line of sight. Once they were out of sight, he let out a breath he didn't knew he was holding. "These were going to be a long few days." He thought.

He had just turned around to get some coffee, when he heard someone coming down the stairs. Angry footfalls echoing through the hall and his living room, before they stopped only a few meters away from him.

"Why?" Angry, troubled but also confused and concerned green eyes stared at him.

"It's the best for her." Gibbs' reply was as short as it could be in this situation.

Tony opened his mouth, but quickly shut it again.

"I don't like it, Tony. But Ziva is happy. She's showing him her room..."

"I know. I heard them talking..."

"He won't take her with him. Vance and I made sure of it. I promise you, Eli won't get very far if he tries it anyway." Gibbs explained, trying to lift some burden from Tony's shoulders. He could sense the past hours had taken a toll on everyone. Tony was no exception.

"How?" The teen muttered under his breath, taking a cup of coffee from Gibbs and downing it with sugar.

Gibbs winced as he saw his beloved coffee receiving such a treatment. "A bit more and there's no coffee left," he muttered, causing Tony to smirk.

"Maybe you should make him less strong. I might wouldn't need that much sugar then," Tony's eyes twinkled with mirth.

Gibbs smirked and subtly shook his head.

"So" Tony stated, his eyes once more showing confusion, "How did you ensure that Eli doesn't run off with Ziva? Didn't you say that he could just take her like that if he wanted too?"

"I did, but Eli and I have come to an agreement, at least for now. He won't take her." Gibbs promised.

Tony nodded and sipped his coffee. "I don't like him being here," he confessed after a few moments, "It's gonna mess her up, especially if you two don't sort out some kind of deal where he can see her. She'll go all quiet again, like she did when she ran off and was taken to that place."

Gibbs looked at his shrunken agent, proud at how Tony was looking out for Ziva. "I know." He simply replied.

The two males stood in silence, a melody of Hebrew flowing through the kitchen. Tony looked at the baby-monitor, which was sitting on the table.

He looked at Gibbs. "Do you know what they're saying?"

The team leader sighed, "No." His expression changing as he heard Ziva's voice rise an octave. He had just walked over and had grabbed the monitor, leaving the kitchen, as he heard the first of a long stream of tears.

Not knowing how to response correctly, Eli just pulled his daughter close, hugging her as she started to cry.

As her cries grew in volume and intensity, Eli spotted Gibbs, who had stopped short in the doorway leading to Ziva's room. A baby-phone in his hand.

Eli raised an eyebrow and looked around the room, spotting the sender on the highest shelve, seemingly being turned on constantly.

"You know, I made sure that your mother and Tali are safe somewhere else than home, too. Ari, too." Eli explained in English, hoping to get rid of the glare Gibbs was sending into his direction.

-"You said they miss me too!"- Ziva explained as she looked up to him, thinking that he lied to her, since her mother wasn't with him all the time.

"They miss you, Ziva. I'm talking to your mother and Ari once in a while..."

Ziva frowned, "Why no I?" As Eli had switched into English she had followed suit.

The Director of Mossad needed a few moments to register the meaning of her words, "I did not want to upset you..I feared that you would be too upset if I contacted you every week and you still would not be able to go home..."

Gibbs had to admit that the other man could come up with a plausible explanation, fast.

"But I missed ya!" Ziva exclaimed loudly, pulling out of Eli's arms and nearly stomping her foot as she did so.

-"I know, I'm sorry- We'll keep in contact from now, yes?" Her father tried to calm her.

Mini-Ziva regarded him closely for several moments before she nodded and run back into his arms, snuggling close to her father.

Meanwhile Gibbs had silently retreated from the room, before Ziva could spot him. Father and daughter needed some time alone. Even if he still didn't feel comfortable about it.

As Eli held his daughter close, his thoughts began to unwind. The longer he was in Mini-Ziva's presence, the more he remembered how she acted as a kid. Laughing and talking everyone and everything to the ground. Not that his grown up daughter wasn't still capable of this, she had merely learned to school her features, hiding or rather banning the childish side of her.

Sometimes he wondered when this change had happened. Was Tali getting killed be the last straw or had it happened sooner?

In the quiet, lonely moments and nights he really regretted to have pushed his family to the sidelines, missing important steps in their lives, making his wife hate him and finally his last living child hate him, too, in the end.

Or wasn't it hate which Ziva experienced, but more resignation? Has she finally given up to have him as a father? One who didn't put his job before her. Or saw her just as the daughter she was, not just another Mossad Officer.

In his musing he hadn't noticed how Ziva was looking up at him. Only when she had laid both of her hands on either side of his face he snapped back to reality. His brown eyes looking directly into hers.

-"Are you okay, daddy? You look sad..."-

Eli smiled. Even if she had seen things no one wanted his daughter to ever see, she had always the ability to sense when someone was upset. Always trying to make that person better, in her own, sometimes twisted ways. Her shrunken self was no difference, he noted.

-"I just want to spent as much time as possible with you, precious!"- He kissed her forehead, before hugging her close to him. He had no idea when and if Gibbs would allow him again to have some time alone with Ziva.

Hearing her father's soft spoken words, her eyes clouded. -"You leaving?"- Ziva bit back a sob that treated to escape her.

-"I have too.."- Eli leaned down close to his daughter's head. -"I would rather spent my whole life with you, but..."-

Ziva sniffed and a new waves of tears began to make their way down her face.

"Oh, Ziva," Eli whispered saddened, holding his daughter close.

~ TBC ~