Sorry it's up later then usual! Today was a LONG traveling day that still isn't over! Many many thanks for all the incredible reviews. Love hearing from you and am incredibly appreciative of all the good feedback you guys are giving about enjoying the story thus far! Thank you!
It had been nearly three weeks since Tony and Ziva were shot in the courtyard at Mossad Headquarters. Ziva's injuries were mostly healed, with the exception of her hand which still had limited function, and by some miracle, she hadn't miscarried…yet. No one spoke to her about the baby as she never brought it up. They had noticed, that she was purposefully eating better. Not that she'd eaten badly before, but she drank extra milk, ate more fruit and vegetables and never skipped a meal as she'd been known to when busy in the past. Waves of nausea would hit her from time to time and she would vomit with morning sickness, though thankfully it hadn't been too bad.
Ducky had started her on Prenatal Vitamins right away and neither spoke of the pregnancy, though both were keeping track of just how far along she'd made each and every day. He worked with her doing Physical Therapy for her hand which had rather severe nerve and tendon damage that diminished her capacity to a great degree to use her thumb. In an effort to close the gaping flesh wound on the palm of her hand were the bullet had torn, a skin graft from her thigh, taken around that bullet wound, now closed the wound on her hand but the skin was tight as was the muscle. They were both working diligently to ensure her hand would not atrophy as was the primary concern.
Vance had gone back to D.C. after a few days, deciding it was best if he resumed his duties as Director and used his position and influence there to help locate The Phoenix. He'd taken McGee and E.J. back with him, temporarily assigning them to a new team as Gibbs wanted them far away from Israel, and safe for the time being. Keeping them there would only incite Bodnar into believing Ziva hadn't learned her lesson about having help, and only making them further targets. They kept in daily contact with each other not only about the case, but more importantly, or rather especially, how Ziva and Tony were recovering. Gibbs had refused to leave Ziva's side and Vance had granted him the leave to stay with her. Tony had been in a medicated coma for the entire three-week period while remaining on the ventilator and today, they were hoping to wake him and take it off. His lungs had healed enough, that he should be able to breath on his own with a constant supply of oxygen until he was fully healed.
Anthony and Schmeil also remained at the house with them, not wanting to leave Tony and Ziva's sides and provided a great deal of light hearted entertainment during the meals, combined with Ducky and Ezra, all about the same age, and entertained Ziva and Gibbs with their stories. Kevin had only sent one other message to say that he'd made contact with someone in the week prior that he hoped would be able to get a message through to the Phoenix handlers that would cut down on the Chain of Command time.
Malachi and Asa were working together to figure out who was responsible for the shooting and weed out the moles and thus, far had no luck. Whoever had been responsible covered their tracks well, or had a great deal of help. It was likely the latter they'd decided and began to investigate everyone while also spreading the word they were in search of The Phoenix. Most had laughed in their faces that they believed the myth and would have better luck finding a unicorn.
"Big day." Gibbs finally spoke after breakfast when he and Ziva were alone together. He'd been waiting for this chance to speak with her seeing the many thoughts racing through her quiet gaze.
"Yes." Ziva nodded quietly taking the last sip of her orange juice. She took a deep breath and carefully set her glass down. They were waking Tony today and she was also having her first follow up ultrasound since learning she was pregnant. Today marked her 12th week of pregnancy. If everything looked okay, she had made it to her second trimester, which moved her further away from the chances of miscarry, but all the more grave if she did.
"Are you going to tell him today?" Gibbs asked quietly shifting his coffee cup around in a circle on the table. He was wondering if Ziva was actually going to tell Tony she was pregnant.
"Not today." She shook her head slowly and inhaled deeply sitting back again in her chair, staring absently on the plate of crumbs before her where her breakfast had been. "Ducky said he's bound to be confused when he awakens with how much time has passed and what has happened to him. Telling him now would not be a good idea. Especially since…" Her voice faded thinking about what she was going to say.
"Since what, Ziver?" Gibbs prompted her knowing exactly what she was thinking and felt it was time to get her to speak about it.
"Since I still have a rather great chance of losing this baby." She looked up at him and instantly there were tears welling in her eyes to even mention it out loud. "He will be so excited when I tell him and then crush his dreams in the next moment to tell him we will likely lose it." Ziva shook her head softly, "I can't do that to him right now. Not when he's already going to be so worried about everything else given what happened." She knew Tony was going to be a wreck when he could verbalize his worst fears of her nearly getting shot to death again. He wouldn't be concerned about what happened to him, even though he was much worse off then she. It would be her safety he was concerned for.
"I can understand that." Gibbs acknowledged her fears with a slight head nod, "But why not wait until after Ducky performs the ultrasound… and tells you what is going on before making any decisions about what to tell Tony and when?" He tried to prompt her into thinking more positively, that this may not all end horribly with the baby given she'd made it this far. He could see in her eyes that she had begun to lose hope already that anything would work out in their favor in the end with so much already against them.
Ziva nodded softly agreeing with what he said and motioned to stand. Ducky had already let to prepare the ultrasound in her bedroom and silmutaneously stop Tony's sedation drip as it would take awhile for it to wear off and bring him around.
Their bedroom had been turned into a medical unit of sorts but it allowed her to still remain sleeping by his side every night, pressed against his body so that he could feel her warmth and she could feel his. Ducky swore with a smile that he was certain it was the human contact from Ziva that had sped along Tony's recovery more quickly as his health stats improved greatly whenever she was around. From breaths his lungs would voluntarily take on their own to the steadiness in his heartbeat whenever she would touch him. Somewhere in Tony's subconscious he recognized Ziva was there.
Ziva turned to walk away and paused after a single step, looking back at Gibbs. "Are you coming?" She asked quietly feeling slightly silly at not wanting to do this alone. He'd held her hand during the last ultrasound given her condition, but she was healed now and still, she found herself needing his steady reassurance to hold her hand, afraid of what Ducky may tell her and needed her 'Dad.' "I would like you to be with me during." She explained herself further and saw Gibbs smile slightly, giving a head nod and moving to stand.
Gibbs couldn't help but feel his own heart smile a little at her request to join him. He'd be lying if he didn't admit internally at least, to feeling both equal parts anxious and excited at the prospect of this pregnancy making it to the end. He'd tried not to think about this baby or Ziva and Tony and the family they could have every single night as he lay in bed, alone with his toughts, and every night he would fail to think about what it would be like to have a tiny baby around again. To be a 'Papa' and see smiles and joy once again gracing Ziva's far too serious features these days.
Joining Ziva now for her second ultrasound certainly wasn't something most fathers of pregnant daughters were ever able to be a part of, some would find it awkward, but given his past history and hers', both experiencing too much loss in their lives, they both relished the idea of sharing this together. Gibbs also knew, that Ziva was afraid and should Ducky give her bad news, he needed to be strong as a father should be for his girl, and hold her if she needed to cry.
Ziva reached down and took hold of his hand, walking quietly together towards the staircase and up to where Ducky was expecting her arrival.
Gibbs smiled softly at Ducky when they entered the bedroom and saw that he had everything already prepared and waiting. The smile Ducky gave in return was a quiet appreciation that Ziva had wanted Gibbs there for support, something Ducky thought was a good idea given how much she'd already come to rely upon Gibbs in the past three weeks, even more then she had previously. His role as her father in many ways was solidifying through the survival of yet another trauma and hardship.
Ziva lay down on her side of the bed and took a deep breath, staring at the ceiling trying to calm her racing heart. She flipped down the top of her soft yoga pants and lifted her shirt giving Ducky access to her lower abdomen. Gibbs took his place standing beside her head. He reached down and once again held her hand carefully while Ducky took a seat on the edge of the bed and pulled the ultrasound machine closer.
"Okay, My Dear, we here we go." Ducky tried to give her a reassuring smile, seeing the fear in her eyes and squirted the light green gel across her skin. He began spreading the gel with the tip of the ultrasound wand and as he did, the monitor came to life with quick moving images of what looked like orange pillows. When he slowed and focused on one area, the immediately clear image of a tiny but perfect looking baby appeared and Ducky's smile widened considerably. "Ah, this little one is shy. Look at the hands already curled in front of their face." He pointed out with his finger at the very visible hands on two perfect arms, held before the baby's face. A perfect little body and two perfect little legs with feet were easily seen. Everything about this baby to Ziva, was perfect.
She couldn't stop the smile growing on her face or the tears from falling at the sight. She was already in love with this child no matter how hard she tried to deny it, afraid to lose it. Seeing it now, so perfect and so real was just something she could not ignore.
"Wow." Gibbs gasped quietly with a smile, looking at the baby on the screen. He'd never seen anything like this in his' life as they hadn't this kind of high tech 3D imaging for ultrasounds when Shannon was pregnant with Kelly. This was the first time he was ever seeing what a real 12 Week fetus looked like and it was stunning.
Ducky was performing the measurements while Ziva and Gibbs watched in wonder and every now and then he would explain what they were seeing or what he was doing. When he switched to the blood flow Doppler imaging his smile fell and his face turned more serious.
"The blood flow to this part of your uterus is still very concerning, Ziva." He spoke honestly showing her with his finger on the screen what he meant, "See how the this area doesn't have the same exchange of colors as the areas around it?" He asked her quietly, "This area is mostly scar tissue from your injuries and as your baby grows and uterus expands, I'm concerned that this portion of the uterus will fail to enlarge with it. It may cause such a complication as Placenta Abruption." He knew she had to have taken some serious abuse to incur these kinds of deep tissue injuries with such scarring.
"What's that, Duck?" Gibbs asked seeing the look in Ziva's eyes and feeling her hand grip his more tightly in unspoken fear to hear him say there was still a very big problem looming ahead of them, even if the baby appeared to be doing well.
"Placenta Abruption is when the placenta supporting the baby begins to tear away from the inside of the uterus and if that happens," Ducky paused lower his voice even further and shifting his gaze between both Ziva and Gibbs, "The baby will no longer be receiving the proper blood and oxygen exchange and you could both bleed out internally."
"The baby could die?" Ziva asked quietly to see if she was understanding correctly fighting through the fog in her brain.
"You could both die, Ziva." Ducky corrected her quietly taking hold of her hand in silent support. "The baby is growing and healthy right now. But as the pregnancy progresses, the situation will become more dire for you both. We have to keep a close eye on this. You are an extremely High Risk Pregnancy at this point given the severity of the injury to that portion of your uterus. It is honestly a miracle to me as a medical professional that you've been able to carry this far given your condition."
"So what are we supposed to do, Duck?" Gibbs asked taking charge of what they could do, rather then what they couldn't. He needed to know if there were something more they could do to ensure the safety of both Ziva and the baby.
"I'm going to have to insist we start doing regular, weekly ultrasounds to monitor the state of her uterus so that we may be able to see the trouble coming before it actually starts." Ducky began his instructions, "And absolutely no heavy lifting on your part, Ziva. No sparring or intense jostling of your body of any kind." He saw the look on her face of absolutely stun and knew this was shocking to her to be so limited once again, "By doing so, you may inadvertently cause your own Placental Abruption and the risk is too great." He waited until she nodded in consent to go on, "My Dear, we will do everything we can to bring this baby to full term or as close as we can get." He added with a small smile, "I have faith in miracles. And you, and this baby, I believe are just that." He nodded softly remembering what had happened already to have brought them this far, "Let me take some photos. You should mark the occasion to have made it this far." He tried to give her something positive to look forward to and grabbed stills of the images from the screen. "Would you like to know the sex of the baby?" He moved his wand away for a moment and looked back at Ziva with a smile.
Ziva was momentarily stunned and then shook her head softly, "I…would rather wait. For Tony." Her eyes flashed over to the man lying on the other side of the massive bed who was slowly coming back to life but still a long way from healed. "I do not want to find out before him. We should find this out together." Her eyes welled with tears once more watching Ducky print the small images.
"A good surprise." Ducky nodded with a smile and shut the machine down, handing her the photos. For now, the sex of the baby would be his secret and already felt a special connection with the little one, to be the only one knowing this secret.
It was a long day spent keeping a quiet vigil over Tony, with Ziva mostly silent. They'd managed to get her to say a few words every now and then but it was clear she wasn't in the mood for talking. Her mind was on too many other things. The absolute joy most expectant mothers should be feeling at this stage in their pregnancy was forbidden in this case, knowing a large dagger was hanging over her head that could fall and take away all her and Tony's baby dreams at any time. Six more months, when every day was precious and fragile was a long time yet to go. The odds seemed insurmountably, especially given their situation with Bodnar and The Council all wanting a piece of her. She tried to focus her attention away from the situation with them and the baby as much as she could, and focus on Tony but in the quiet hours leading up to his awakening, she had nothing but time to think.
Ziva was lying beside Tony in the bed, holding onto his hand when she felt the first tiny movements of his fingers against her own. "Tony…" She sat up slowly to look down at him, still holding his hand and looked at his eyelids starting to dance upon hearing her voice.
"Keep calling to him, My Dear." Ducky smiled, "He hears you." He encouraged her lightly with a wave of his hand and head nod. The other were gathering around now as well, leaving their chairs and sofas in her room's own sitting room where they were watching a movie to see Tony starting to come back to life.
"Tony…it's okay. I'm here." Ziva spoke quietly with nerves eating at her to finally see his eyes open for the first time in nearly a month. "I'm here. It's okay." She encouraged him and felt his hand squeeze her fingers much more tightly, not wanting to let go as he fought his way towards conciousness.
"He's bound to be very confused when he comes to." Ducky instructed the group around him of Schmeil, Gibbs, Anthony and Ziva. "Just reassure him that he's okay. Do not flood him with any information as he has no idea how much time as passed."
"Tony," Ziva tried again reaching forward this time to gently brush her hand down his face and when her fingers and palm rested against his cheek, his eyes finally fluttered fully open and remained that way. "Hi." She greeted him softly with a raging smile and tears in her eyes to actually see him looking back at her.
Tony's breathing and heart rate immediately began to race and he reached up instantly with his hand to hold onto her wrist tightly with the hand on his face, tears instantly flooding his eyes and tried to speak.
"No, shhh!" Ziva tried to quiet him calmly, "You can't speak, Tony. There is a tube in your throat for breathing. You are okay. You are okay." She tried to reassure him and Tony only cried more, clinging now with both hands to her wrist and then trying to touch her face. "It's okay. You're okay." Ziva cried trying to smile at him seeing the absolute fear in his eyes. She'd never seen Tony look this terrified before in all her life and the more she looked at him and spoke the more upset he became. "Don't cry. It's okay. You're okay, Tony." She tried again to sooth him, stroking the side of his face.
"I think he's crying over you, Ziver." Gibbs spoke quietly standing right beside them and seeing Tony's face and the look in his eyes as he stare at Ziva. He'd seen this look in Tony's eyes before over Ziva after they thought she died. "He's worried about you." The way Tony was clinging to her with both hands, was obvious he was afraid to let her go.
Ziva hadn't thought of that but it made sense and she tried again, "Tony, I'm okay. I'm really here. You are okay." She tried to soothe him and he only began to cry more in confusion with eyes finally landing on Gibbs and then Ducky, to see his father and Schmeil and then back to Ziva and he cried even more, shaking his head and trying to speak.
"Anthony, you cannot speak. I'm sorry but there is a tube in your throat for a ventilator helping you to breathe. We cannot remove it until we are certain you are stable." Ducky tried to explain and watched as Tony began clawing at the oxygen tube under his nose, trying to rip it away. Ziva tried to stop him and Tony only seemed to grow more agitated and afraid.
"Duck, what's happening?" Gibbs asked quietly having never seen Tony like this, so upset and seemingly somewhere else even if he was seeing them.
"He's likely experiencing what they call ICU Psychosis. It's not uncommon for someone who has been in a coma for quite sometime. This entire time he's been under, Anthony has likely been having very vivid dreams of intermixing realities and nightmares. Given what happened just prior to his last moments of conciousness, coupled with Ziva's previous death and injuries, he's likely very confused about what is reality and what is a dream he had." Ducky tried to explain sighing deeply as they helped Ziva pull Tony's hands down to his sides, "It will take some time for him to come around and realize he is awake and this is real."
"Tony, I am okay. You are not dreaming. I am real." Ziva tried to assure him.
"The last time he saw you, My Dear, you were bleeding and hurt and looked very different. He had no idea the time has passed so I believe he thinks you are a dream presently. That you are not real and that is only frightening him more, to think you are just a dream. Perhaps, you should step out for a little while until we can calm him?" Ducky suggested sadly seeing Tony fighting to try and speak and continuously clawing at the tubes on his face and at his neck while staring at Ziva.
Ziva nodded in defeat and tried to move away from Tony, which only agitated him further and he grabbed her wrist tightly, squeezing painfully hard not wanting to let her go.
"Tony!" Gibbs immediately stepped forward using his commanding voice at seeing him hurt Ziva even if it wasn't intentional and got Tony to stop for a moment on instinct hearing the tone
"We may need to restrain him for a time period." Ducky suggested as Gibbs tried to peel Tony's fingers away from Ziva's wrist. His hold so tight her hand was turning red from stop of blood flow.
"No," Ziva shook her head with tears raining down her cheeks to see Tony in such distress looking at her with near terror in his eyes, holding onto her with a death grip. "I will calm him, please, just give us time."
"I'm not leaving you alone in here with him. Not like this and not in your condition." Gibbs adamantly refused to leave his spot.
Ziva sighed and leaned in closer to Tony, trying another approach to get him to let go. "Tony, I'm here. This is real and you are not dreaming. This is real. I am real." She repeated leaning in and speaking quietly and then kissed his lips, letting it linger until she felt his grip lesson. "I'm real. You are not dreaming. I am okay." She whispered again and kissed him once more, stroking the side of his face softly and then slid down next to his body again, "I am real, Tony. You are okay. I am okay." She continued to speak and then lay her head on his chest, draping her arm over him and palming his heart with her hand. Tony continued to relax as she melded her body with his and he slowly draped his arm over her, pulling her into him and recognizing this feel, the warmth, the way her body felt against his and listened to her voice.
Ziva started singing softly and Tony listened carefully, the tension leaving his body a little more every minute until his hand gripping her was soft and gentle now and his breathing was slow and even. The slowing and steady heart monitor indicating he was calming down. She continued to sing until he drifted back asleep again, still holding her to his chest and when they were sure he was out again, they finally spoke.
"This will likely happen a few more times at least every time he awakens. We need to make sure and keep the lights on during the evening or the darkness will only scare and confuse him further." Ducky tried to explain. "Perhaps, My Dear, it would be best if he did not see you first upon waking if this is what he is afraid of most. Losing you. I think it would be better if the first face he sees, is you, Jethro. He depends on you for guidance and to calm him. He will need this now, at least until you can get through to him that he is alive and this is not a dream." He looked between the two, "I'm so sorry, Ziva." Ducky knew how badly this would hurt Ziva to be kept away from him and knowing that it was her that upset Tony so. It was not her fault, or his, but given the circumstances it only seemed to agitate Tony more and they couldn't take the chance of Tony accidentally hurting her.
"It's fine, Ducky. I understand." Ziva answered him quietly slowly pulling herself out of Tony's arms and away from his chest. It crushed her inside to know she was the cause of his pain and the terror she saw for the first time in his eyes at believing she had died. The horror and fear of his nightmares and memories over the past three weeks must have been excruciating for him and she felt terrible for his having to live through such hell. If Gibbs could find a way through to him and calm him, she was more then glad to step aside, even if it hurt to be away from him.
"Ziver," Gibbs helped her to stand and tried to walk out with her, knowing she was more upset then she was letting on by what had happened.
"I'm fine, Gibbs." Ziva responded quickly, too quickly. "Really." She took a breath trying to stop her sobs, "Please, just stay with him… I am fine." She repeated and walked away, leaving the men in her life alone and staring after her, unable to do anything more to help.
Ziva found herself walking quickly down the hallway, not knowing where she was going and ended up in Ari's room. It was already dark outside except for the moonlight coming in through the veranda glass doors. Ziva sat on the edge of his bed, putting her head in her hands she finally let loose and began to cry over Tony, over the baby, over not being able to do anything more to help her sister and feeling as though nothing would ever be right again. Body wracking sobs took over as her grief had finally poured out that had been building since she'd first learned that Liat was taken and held back for so long, mounting inside her and waiting for the moment of release. Her body was shaking as she cried and eventually she slid off the side of the bed and curled into her pulled up knees, burying her face into her folded arms and cocooning herself around the baby inside her.
Ziva had finally cried herself out after nearly ten minutes of sobbing quietly into her arms and lifted her head, sniffing and trying to wipe the stinging tear tracks from her face as she looked out at the beautiful ocean and the moonlit path leading over the watery horizon. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end when she had calmed enough for her senses to return and realized she was not alone in the large dark room. Her heart began to pound as she slowly turned her head towards the far darkened corner of her brother's small library.
The same heart, all but stopped when the reading lamp beside Ari's armchair suddenly flicked on. A tall, dark and handsome stranger wearing an elegant business suit, now sat staring at her on the floor from his seat in Ari's chair. Ziva's heart was pounding so loudly she could hear the blood rushing in her ears in fear at who he was and why he was there? How he could have possibly gotten in past her elaborate security and knew exactly where she would be in the house? This was not a room she ventured into frequently and hadn't even realized she would be in this place until fifteen minutes ago. Had he entered the room while she was so upset and crying? Or was he waiting there for her? So many questions flew through her mind in the span of seconds as they silently stare each other down. She was trying and failing to calm her rapidly rising and falling chest in fear at how best to protect herself should he attack her or what her options were if he'd had a gun or another weapon. She was in the middle of contemplating these things when he suddenly spoke, startling her from her thoughts.
"What do you want with The Phoenix?" He asked coolly with a definite American accent, his dark eyes never leaving hers.
"How did you get in here?" She asked with voice thick from crying and wondering again how the man got past her security and all the way upstair to a room she was almost never in, but just happened to be in this moment.
"It doesn't matter how I got in." He answered with the same measured stare and tone, "What do you want with The Phoenix?" He asked again.
"I need her help." Ziva decided to answer honestly, seeing his persistence with the question and taking the opportunity to size him and stall if need be while figuring out what to do. She literally had her back to the wall, so to speak with the bed directly behind her and she was still curled mostly into a ball sitting on the floor in front of it. The man was looking down at her from his position in the chair and given how tall he seemed even sitting, she guessed he had to be at least 6'5''. His muscular build was very much that of well-trained soldier, Navy SEAL or other Special Forces, given his posture and the way he set his jaw when looking at her. He wasn't wearing tactical gear, but rather a light charcoal grey suit of high quality and again, she had to wonder, how he was able to get past her guards in the dark, looking like this and wearing expensive leather shoes that were certainly not for sneeking around. He looked more like he was attending a business conference then breaking into a maximum-security fortress home of the former Director of Mossad. The fact that he was devastatingly handsome was also hard to ignore. His naturally tan skin, physical build with the muscles, dark hair and eyes suggested somewhere in his bloodline he was Polynesian but also light enough in color and his tall height suggesting he was something else too. She could tell by the way he was looking at her, that he was sizing her up as well.
"Why?" He asked after a moment.
"I heard from a friend that she could help me with The Council." She answered him trying to slow her heart and recognizing that his posture was not hostile, in fact quite opposite. He sat in the armchair with his arms laying on the chairs arms and palms flat against the smooth leather, purposefully showing her that he had no weapons in his hands.
"I just learned that I was the heir to the Middle Eastern Divisions seat…and that I carry a unique bloodline. The Council have made a deal with the madman who killed my father, that he can have me to kill after they get my genetic material for further breeding purposes in their Genetics Program…I am pregnant…and now they want my child." She put it all out there, deciding she had nothing to lose with this man as if he were there to kill her, he likely already knew all of this information.
"This man has already taken my sister who is also pregnant…he has made a deal with those on The Council for her as well. They plan to take her child and then put her through the Elite Assassins Program." Ziva added swallowing hard and blinking back her tears in fear, "I have tried to stop him and them and each time, either I am shot and nearly killed or those I love… I no longer know what to do or who to trust. My half-brother Kevin…Kahlil was a Sunshine Ally." She added remembering Kevin telling her that was important and she should tell whomever came asking, "He was a Third Gen who helped The Phoenix to get her children back on that mission. We were hoping she would help us in turn. Help me to save our sister and keep our children from harm. We were all projects to The Council. We had no choice."
"And how," He spoke slowly cocking his head slightly to one side still studying Ziva, "Do you think The Phoenix can help you in this situation? What do you want her to do?"
"I don't know." Ziva answered honestly crying again, "I am desperate for help. I do not know how to save my sister from this madmen or these people who want to steal her child and mine. I do not know how to stop them from trying to kill me in order to take this seat on The Council. Those who are willing to help me get shot at or abducted, trying to force me to go at this alone but I can't. Not and live through it." She finally admitted outloud, crying, "Not by myself and not pregnant. I need someone who knows what they are doing. Someone who can help me. I only just learned about The Council and how my entire life was orchestrated as one of their projects. I do not want the same future for my child. I was told that she could possibly help me stop The Council from trying to have me killed and take my child and to save my sister from a similar fate. We just want to be left alone."
"Why should she help you, Ms. David?" He asked with intent dark eyes glaring into her own, "Your father did very bad things to people in the name of the greater good."
"I am not my father!" Ziva immediately fired back with raging tears, afraid she would lose any help because of the sins of her father. "I am not my father." She repeated with a small sob, "He had my own mother killed…my sister taken away at birth and donated as a project! He had me…his own child, tortured and raped to turn me into a killing machine… I am not my father!" She repeated through another cry.
"You had Orders to kill your own brother, Ari. And you killed him." The mysterious man answered, as if proving she was like her father, "You killed your own brother."
"Only because I had to! My brother had turned into a monster! He was going to kill another innocent person! It was the only choice I could make!" Ziva cried, "I loved my brother!"
The man simply stare at her for a long while watching her cry and then stood, towering over her on the floor, revealing for the first time his true formidable stature and build. He walked slowly towards her and Ziva inhaled a sharp breath, frozen not knowing what he was going to do and preparing for the attack. Instead, he extended his hand to her to help her off the floor.
She hesitated only a moment before accepting and let him help pull her up.
"I will pass along the message." He finally spoke staring directly into her eyes only a foot away now. "Stay in this room. Do not attempt to follow me or have anyone else or you will forfeit any potential further help with The Council. Is that clear?" He ordered her quietly.
"Yes." Ziva answered softly with tears still raining down her cheeks and trying and failing to sniffle back her runny nose.
The dark and handsome stranger acknowledged her with a small head nod and reached into his suit pocket, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it over to her without a word.
"Thank you." Ziva spoke softly, astonished at the gesture. "How will I know if she gets the message?" She braved asking the man as he strode across the room.
"Someone will contact you within two weeks time." He answered and then spun on his heel and left into the darkness again.
Ziva stood still as stone wrapping her arms protectively around herself at what just happened. Her eyes drifting down to the handkerchief he'd given her and unfolded the delicate material, gasping softly when she saw the emblom embroidered beautifully in gold thread in the corner. The Phoenix.