A/N: Here is chapter eight! Sorry, I was hoping to have this posted by Sunday, but I had no time to write last week. Hope you enjoy the chapter!(:

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS

Chapter Eight
Monday September 17th, 2012

Jenny lounged on the settee. On her lap, the young Israeli's head rested. The red head's hand glided gently through the young woman's slightly wild hair. A content smile rested on Ziva's lips as she slept. Slowly, her chest rose fell in a rhythmic pattern. It seemed as though, for once, she was completely at peace. Jenny peered at the girl for a moment, noticing the rare smile on her face. She thought to herself, it's nice to finally see it again.

In the kitchen, however, the atmosphere was far from serene. Already, Gibbs had expressed his displeasure of how Ducky had neglected to immediately call him after finding the missing girl. Good-naturedly though, Ducky listened and sat under the heated stare of his long-time friend.
"Jethro, she did not wish for you, nor Jenny, so see her."
"She didn't want to Duck? It was your responsibility to!"
Still, as Gibbs rose his voice, Ducky did not refrain from being his usual kind-hearted self. He offered no ill remark in his friends direction, for he knew that Gibbs could not bear to lose another person he saw as a child.

Tuesday September 18th, 2012
Ziva awoke at approximately 0400. Groggily, the Israeli maneuvered her way to the bathroom and completed her morning rituals. Later, she surfaced from the confines of the small bathroom and took to the front door. She hoped to slip out of the before Gibbs awoke, for she knew the probability of him allowing her to train would be slim. Though, her hopes came crashing down as the familiar scent of coffee engulfed her. Disappointedly, she thought to herself, he is awake. As she submerged into the kitchen she was met with not one, but two sleep deprived faced. Covering up her disappointment, she politely offered,
"Good morning Jen, Gibbs."
As usual, Jenny offered her the same and Gibbs simply nodded. It was evident that they had been discussing something shortly before she had entered the room. So, after pouring herself a cup of steaming black coffee, she headed to the door. Though, she was not able to get both feet out the door before a deep voice questioned her,
"Where ya going, Miss David?"
"To the mess hall and then to training. That is what the usual recruit does yes?"
"You are not goi-"
Tiredly, the redhead cut him off,
"Jethro, we already discussed this. Go follow the usual schedule Ziva."
Quickly, Ziva slipped out of the door before the silver haired man had the chance to rebuke.

At the dining hall, Ziva was surprised to find that she not the only early riser in the building. A handful marines who worked on base were dining along with a few others. So, after Ziva politely accepted her double rations, she took her place where the group of people she had become acquainted with last sat. So, in peace she picked at her meal before a familiar voice bellowed.
"Zee-vah, nice to see you again."
The Israeli caught his joking tone and answered,
"I wish I could say the same to you Tony."
"What were you up to?"
"It is nothing of your concern."
"Oh, but it is."
Tiredly, the Israeli answered,
"Gibbs, as Americans would say "shored me"."
A small chuckle escaped his throat as he corrected her,
"I think you mean grounded, my ninja."
"Yes, that."
"Well, sweet cheeks, I hope your little break didn't make you too out of shape because gunny decided to add an extra nine miles to our usual morning jog."
"Why do I feel as if something provoked this?"
"Well, possibly. I might have coated his alarm clock in fast bonding glue."
Ziva could not help but let out a giggle. For a moment, it seemed that the world just escaped from her, and everything was simply fine. There was no suffering, no death, and no pain. Though, this unattainable world seemed to fade away just as quickly as it appeared.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Sounded the twigs as they snapped under her feet. She had long ago broken away from the pack of runners on the 12 mile jog and was enjoying the feeling of the wind in her hair as she charged ahead. The end of the 11th mile was drawing near, so Ziva concentrated all her remaining energy on sprinting till the end. The sound of the wind whipped by her, and soon the final marker came into her view. Her feet carried her swiftly across the threshold, and then she offered a wayward glance behind her. Her fellow recruits were far behind her, with the drill instructor still leading the way. All the men seemed to have been running together as more than a battalion, but as a team. They seemed to feed off of each other's determination as they approached the final stretch. It was a sight she had never before seen. In Mossad, it was always every man for himself. Even in group efforts, each task appeared to be completed individually, and she had learned only on that only the strongest survive. As the group drew closer, she could make out the look on the drill instructor's face. His face was not twisted in exhaustion, nor was it out of form because of pain. His expression displayed an emotion she had battled with so many times: anger. Soon, she hear the heavy thump of their footsteps as they approached the finish, and due to having no wish of being trampled she stepped to the side.

Soon, the booming voice of the drill instructor rang through air,
"David, what do you think you were doing?"
"What I was told to be doing sir, running."
"Well, you sure as hell weren't 'running' the way I ordered you to."
"You did not order me to run a certain way, rather simply run. Also, due to the fact that I ran at a much faster pace than you and most other men here, I saw no reason to continue running with the rest of the recruits."
"Cut the attitude David, so that you remember how to run correctly, I think it'd be worthwhile for you to clean the mess hall with DiNozzo this evening."
"I do not see wh-"
"Are you volunteering to clean it for two nights Miss David?"
"No sir..."

Please Review! My goal is to reach 95 reviews before I post chapter nine! Chapter nine will DEFINITELY have Tiva!(: