"Agent McGee." Julia moved on to shake his hand; already knowing whom each person was and continued to greet them all in this manner.
"My apologies for the delay. We really wanted to finish today, especially if I will be leaving town soon." She announced looking over the group, "You all must be famished by now with hunger having lunch delayed. Please, let us go eat and then we can speak of things to come."
Julia turned and motioned towards the truck, "I thought we would enjoy a bit of a picnic lunch outside today if that is okay with you?" She smiled as everyone stare at her nearly absolutely silently as they walked, "It's such a beautiful day."
"That sounds nice. Thank you." Ziva was the first brave soul to actually speak and acknowledge her.
This time, everyone tried to cram into the front end of the truck cab, all wanting to observe the mystery woman as closely as possible. There was only room for Julia to sit in the driver's seat, Ziva was smushed up against her in the middle of the front, with Tony beside her in the passengar seat. Gibbs, sat in the rear seat, with E.J. next to him and Malachi against the far side. McGee and Asa rode on the tailgate in the back.
The truck ride was absolutely silent as all eyes and minds were on studying the woman so near them. Everyone afraid to speak and not know what to say, all trying to size her up.
"How is Kevin?" Julia finally asked when the silence reigned too long.
Ziva's eyes widen and then swallowed the dryness in her mouth at the question. Clearly she knew exactly how they contacted her and through whom. "I…think he is well. I have not seen him in some time."
"Neither have I." Julia answered. "Not since England." She spoke quietly and then smiled softly, "He is a brilliant guy that one. Amazing the things he came up with for that mission."
They assumed she was speaking of Operation Sunshine though no one wanted to guess.
"Your children are charming." Ziva finally spoke realizing the silence was too defeaning and the woman had tried to break it with small talk, now it was someone from their sides turn. "Very cute and quite chatty."
"Ah, yes." Julia smiled nodding slowly as she drove, "Thank you and yes, they are…chatty." She shook her head, "New visitors are always very intriguing to them as we rarely have them here. I do not usually bring people to my home. I go to them for work or meetings. This is my sanctuary from that life."
"But you brought us here. Why?" Tony finally spoke with an inquisitive tone of his own, daring to glance down the seat and stare at the beautiful blone woman's profile, extremely curious now to see her eyes after Ziva's description though she kept them hidden with her sunglasses.
"I am under certain time constraints presently. This is a very busy time of year for me. In order to help you…to make this work, I needed you brought to me rather then me go to you." Julia answered honestly and very matter-o-factly only intriguing them more.
"We heard that you just had twins. Congratulations." Ziva spoke quietly still marveling over that, "Less then a month old is that right?"
"Yes," Julia smiled genuinely revealing a deep dimple in her cheek they'd never seen before. "And they keep me plenty busy along with the other four."
"I can't imagine six kids." Ziva shook her head with a smile, "What fun that must be. You look incredible for just having twins three weeks ago…astonishingly so. I can't believe you are able to run let alone ride a horse." She braved stating what they were all thinking.
"I tend to heal very quickly." She answered slowly with a slight smile, turning her head ever so slightly to actually look at Ziva. They couldn't see her eyes through her glasses but got the distinct impression she was looking at and hinting at, the scar on Ziva's cheek that had indeed, healed very quickly.
"That must be nice." Ziva spoke slowly as well with a quiet voice, "Considering how much I get injured of late…healing quickly would certainly help our situation." Her eyes slowly drifted over to Tony thinking of both of their current injuries that were creating road blocks in their path to happiness.
There was no time for further comment as they went down into another valley and came upon an enormous log cabin home that was at least three stories tall and several thousand square feet. It resembled more a giant hunting lodge hotel then home, given its size but was distinctly very homey inspite of that. The group only grew increasingly more intrigued when she pulled to a stop and they got out, looking up at the flags billowing in the wind beside it. A large flag with The Phoenix was the most prominent with flags from several other countries surrounding it.
"Okay, I recognize, our flag of course, the Union Jack of Great Britian, and the flag of Sweden but I don't recognize the last one…what is that?" E.J. asked quietly getting out of their side of the car, whispering to both Malachi and Gibbs as McGee and Asa joined them stairing up at the massive residence before them.
Malachi's eyes were wide and unblinking, "It is the Imperial Flag of Russia." He answered quietly. "The seal of the Romanovs."
"And the plot thickens." McGee added quietly with wide eyes as well and slow smile creeping across his face as he watched Julia undoing her chaps and laying them over the side of the truck.
There was no time ponder that any further even when the tall dark and mysterious man who had turned up in Ziva's house and road with them back on the plane stepped out of a vehicle pulling in behind them. This time he was wearing casual jeans, and a form fitting t-shirt that revealed his impressive physique and dropped his duffle bag to the ground when Julia's eyes caught with his they walked slowly towards each other with growing smiles before the tall man scooped her against his chest, lifting her feet off the ground a least a foot and planted a big kiss on her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I sure hope that's the husband." Tony whispered to Ziva and Gibbs with a growing smile watching the passionate kiss before them. They watched Julia kiss his lips twice more in chaste kisses with raging smiles, as he whispered something into her ear and set her feet back on the ground.
"Lena!" Julia squealed with a smile as she reached into the backseat of the SUV removing a tiny little girl of maybe two years old with big dark eyes and adorable curls from a car seat as the child squealed with delight and giggles excitedly reaching for and hugging and kissing her mother's face as Julia removed her. The man picked up his duffle and then threaded his hand with Julia's as they walked towards the waiting group. "Everyone, I would like to formally introduce to you my husband, Jackson James. Jack, is already familiar with all of you." She smiled again even as Jack shook their hands to formally greet. "And this is our Lena." Julia smiled kissing the head of the toddler in her arms who was snuggling in against her mother's chest and skin, not caring that she was dirty with sweat and dust.
"So you're the Number Two." Tony smiled shaking the man's hand and finally getting a good look at the mysterious man who had appeared in Ziva's house undetected. "It makes sense now, that you're her husband and so close to the top of the Chain of Command…Number Two Guardian, but do tell me, please as we're all quite intrigued here…why wouldn't you be the Head Guardian instead? The last barrier of defense for your lovely wife here?" He rambled asking likely more then she should and the others' stare unmoving at the two men.
"Because nothing gets between a mama bear and her cubs, Agent DiNozzo." Jack smiled shaking his head softly, "Not even me."
"Grandma!" Lena shrieked throwing her arms out wide looking towards the house and all eyes turned to follow her vision. Katherine was standing on the steps now with arms crossed and then smiled brightly and waved when Lena did excitedly.
"Grandma?" Tony asked bewildered looking between the two and then to Julia and back to Katherine, who was the Head Guardian, and then to Jack who was smiling even more widely at seeing the look on their faces remembering what he'd just said.
"And certainly not that mother bear and her cubs." Jack nodded towards Katherine who was walking towards them and Julia nudged him in the shoulder with a smile.
"Jack." She shook her head slowly with a smile and moved towards Katherine, passing over Lena who held onto Katherine neck for dear life with giggles and kisses.
"She's your mother?" Ziva gasped softly looking from Julia to Katherine and the tiny beautiful girl in Katherine's arms.
"It's a long story." Julia smiled softly, "But yes." She leaned in and kissed Lena's cheek and then Katherine's, even though she was dirty and sweaty, the woman only smiled and kissed her back. "Please excuse me for a few minutes, I'm going to go wash up. If you spot my Trio of Trouble please tell them to come in and do the same."
They could only assume from her smile and the way she was looking at Lena that she was speaking of her three older children whom they had all learned, got into mischief more often as a collective group.
"Annika is giving Rafe a bottle now but Jillian is still asleep. I'm sure she'll be awake soon and hungry as well." Katherine informed Julia with a smile.
"I'll check on them before coming out." Julia smiled back and kissed Lena's head one more time making the child giggle. "I'll be back soon."
"I have so many questions." Tony stare in disbelief watching Julia leave then back at Katherine with considerably wide-eyes. They had only ever known Katherine Thorne to be the mother of one, single child. A daughter, Kelsi, very well known to the world as a child growing up in the White House, now married and expecting a child of her own. This information was completely mind blowing.
"I'm sure you do, Agent DiNozzo." Katherine looked at him intently with a slow smile creeping across her features, and then kissed the girls forehead in her arms. "Glad to see you weren't eaten by any bears…or that 20-foot dragon-slaying giant you seemed so concerned about." She snickered and turned around before the others could react and walked towards the house, "Come out back for lunch. You must be starving by now."
"My mind…is literally blown." McGee whispered over to Tony with wide-eyes watching Katherine play with the little girl sitting on the table before them, making faces and giving Eskimo kisses with wide smiles and giggles. This was certainly not the image of Katherine Thorne they had ever seen in all her political life; she was so formidable and intimidating in public that she as Kevin put it, made him want to crawl back into the womb. This Most Powerful Woman in American History was now playing quite animatedly with seemingly great joy with her grandchild.
"Don't worry, it took me awhile to get used to as well." Jack smiled softly at them, leaning forward in his chair at their end of the table seeing that none of them were eating, too busy watching with utter fascination Katherine playing with Lena. "She is so wonderful with them. They adore her to pieces."
"So I guess, this," E.J. nodded towards them with a smile, "Is what was more important and worth stepping down as Secretary of State for?"
"Absolutely." Katherine answered herself with a smile, not taking her eyes off of Lena and surprising them that she'd heard and was paying attention to their conversation. "Spending time with them is certainly better then playing Scrabble with William in our underwear." She answered plainly and eyes slowly drifting towards Tony who had the appearance of a deer in headlights.
"How did you hear that?" He gasped in astonishment that she knew about his comment on the plane, "You were all the way in the front of the plane!"
Julia was walking towards them now from the house into the lavish backyard wearing a soft smile and new shirt with a tiny baby bundled in blankets in the crook of her arm and hidden from view save one tiny foot sticking out as they were covered from both the sunlight and probably nursing given the way she held the baby against her in her arms.
"Even the walls have ears around here, Agent DiNozzo." Jack shook his head with a smile to see Tony's unblinking eyes and then laughed. "They hear everything. Even what you think. So be careful of that, too."
"You can hear my thoughts?" Tony asked with widening eyes looking at Julia's bare skin shoulder as the thin blanket fell from away with a slight breeze, exposing the top swell slightly of her breast that the baby was attached to nursing quite contentedly. The sight was immediately dizzing to all the men at the table who seemed frozen except Gibbs who only smiled at the tiny baby's foot that splayed their toes in the warm sunshine. Nursing wasn't a big deal for him as Shannon had done the same. A breast with a baby attached was only a beautiful sight now to him, not cause for panic as he could see with the younger men around him.
"Jack," Julia sighed shaking her head and giving him a pointed look spoke volumes without words. She readjusted the blanket over the baby and her breast and then flipped her sunglasses up, taking refuge from the sun now under the shade umbrella.
"What am I thinking now?" Tony decided to poke the bear and see if she really could read minds. "Come on…" He egged her on.
"Out of respect for your fiancee," Julia's eyes flashed from Jack to Tony and then Ziva, "I will not say." She announced out loud and then added, 'I can hear and see them, Tony.' He had been thinking about the 'soft, smooth and deliciously looking creamy skin of her breast' he could see and the same 'pounding pulse point' that made him groan internally, with his already raging hormones from unresolved sexual tension at not being able to be with Ziva.
Tony heard Julia's voice inside his head and saw the swimming pools of gold in her eyes that Ziva was speaking about now as she looked at him so closely across the table, "Argh!" He screamed out loud and jumped at hearing her voice, "Get out of my head!" He looked right at her and then around to the rest of those in their group, "Did you hear that?" He asked them as they were looking at him as though he were still crazy.
"What?" Malachi asked him with narrowed eyebrows of concern that Tony had literally just yelled at the woman who was supposed to help them, sitting across from him at the table. The man was surely losing his mind to continuously insult them.
"She was talking to me!" Tony waved his finger frantically at Julia.
"No, she wasn't." Gibbs answered quietly worried for Tony now as well with the lasting effects of the coma psychosis.
'Actually, I was.' Julia's voice announced itself in each of their minds at the same time though she remained looking only at her baby nursing at her breast, giving up on keeping it completely covered with the breeze continuously blowing it away.
They all shared immediate looks amongst themselves with rapidly darting eyes to see if they really had all heard that and the concensus was unanimous, they had.
"Told you!" Tony scolded them for doubting him and then gulped realizing it was the truth.
"You have Telepathic abilities?" McGee asked in utter amazement looking at the woman before him who could speak to their minds without saying a word verbally.
"And how did you heal, Ziva's scar?" Tony interjected with pounding heart following McGee's lead as the woman had opened the door by invading his mind and seeing and hearing his thoughts. He was immediately embarrassed that she knew what he was thinking upon seeing her breast and his sexual tension issues with Ziva.
"You should eat your lunch. I know you're all hungry. Especially you, Ziva and the baby." Julia didn't look up as she spoke, only continued to look at the sweet face of her baby. "She likes it when you eat pineapple. I made sure to have some especially for you."
"Wait, wait, wait a minute here." Tony put his hands up shaking his head and blinking his eyes trying to gauge what she said, "Are you telling me…that you know what our baby likes to eat? And just how is that possible?"
"I can speak with her." Julia answered quietly finally looking up to meet Tony's eyes and then shifting over to Ziva's. "She also likes it when you sing that lullaby. She likes the sound of your voice any time but especially that song you sang when you were still in Israel. The one in French…Fais Do Do?" Julia looked at Ziva for confirmation as if wondering if that were correct, trying to place the tune she actually heard through the baby's memories, "You have not sang it since you left."
Ziva sat still as stone, with wide-eyes simply staring at Julia not knowing what else to do. No one had heard her singing that particular song, ever. She had begun singing it when Tony was in the coma and she would lay in a warm bath at night, singing the lullaby that her mother had sung to her, to her unborn child.
"You…can speak…to my child?" Ziva asked with a cracked voice and fear in her heart, trying to hold back tears at the mere thought of her baby recognizing her voice and already having favorite songs and comforts at so young. She was froze in staring at the tiny baby nursing on Julia's breast and her heart suddenly ached for the chance to do so and bond with her own daughter.
"Oh, this is just crazy!" Tony burst out shaking his head getting angry at seeing Ziva in tears and not liking her emotions toyed with over their baby, considering what a delicate situation it was in that she could still lose it. "Listen Lady, you're like a pint-sized jar of peanut butter! Sure you're smooth and creamy and likely delicious too but you're still completely nuts!"
Everyone at the table froze in disbelief at what Tony had just said, waiting and watching for reactions.
Julia remained looking at Ziva, perfectly still before shifting her eyes to Tony.
McGee's eyes went considerably wide seeing the look in Katherine's eyes and the wicked turn in her gaze as she stare at Tony and he remembered what Jack had said. Frantically he reached for Tony's shirt to pull him back in his seat seeing Tony was about to stand and unleash more insults, "Mother bear! Mother bear!" He whisper shouted looking at Katherine who looked like she was about to eat Tony, "Abort! Abort!" He chanted trying to get Tony to stop.
Finally it was Julia who broke into laughter not only from Tony's comment and what he was thinking in his head, but mostly from hearing McGee's chants of warning and his own thoughts on Katherine looking as though she would rip Tony apart like a mother Grizzly bear.
"It's okay." Julia continued to shake softly with laughter shaking her head. "You are very funny, Agent DiNozzo. You do seem to say the most curious things. I have been described as many things in my life, but never have I, been described as peanut butter before, I will certainly never forget it." She laughed still shaking her head. "You have every right to question my abilities and you should, especially when it concerns those you love. I know you are only trying to protect Ziva and the baby, but I assure you, I mean them no harm, Tony. Quite the opposite in fact; I believe I can help your situation. Not only with your sister, Ziva, and with The Council…but I believe I can help with the baby. I know of the damage to your uterus that is giving great concern. I think I can help."
"How?" Ziva asked as a tear slipped down her cheek, no longer stinging the scar that had vanished with this woman's touch.
"This morning, with your cheek, I was testing you." Julia answered honestly and in a quiet voice.
"Testing me how?" Ziva asked in confusion.
"To see if we shared any of the same bloodline, because I could only help you if we did." Julia answered, "We shared the same great-grandfather, Ziva in the SS Nazi Officer Johan Hendrix, and because of that, I can help you. Some call it irony, I call it fate." She smiled softly, "Something good, from something bad."
"I don't understand." Ziva shook her head taking rapid breath.
"In looking at your family tree and genetics we do share many of the same relatives going back to the Stewarts and Sinclairs and many others a very long time ago, but it was Johan Hendrix, who was our most recent common ancestor, used for the genetics program that both of our families were a part of, that I believe, made this possible for me to help you." Julia shifted the baby who had fallen asleep when finished, from her breast with ease and covered herself while exposing the baby's beautiful delicate little face all at the same time with the grace of an experienced professional mother. "I can only help those in my bloodline or those I cause harm to directly. When I touched your face this morning, it was to see if we really did share a common ancestor enough for me to heal you."
"You can heal…me?" Ziva asked with shaking voice again feeling a tremble go through her body, and stare at the baby in the woman's arms. The idea of healing the damage done by those in the camp, forever, and shedding any lingering fears of ever being able to carry this baby…or any in the future to term was incomprehensionable.
"I can try." Julia answered quietly.
"Wait, go back," Tony was trying to wrap his mind around this insanity, "You said that you can only heal those in your bloodline or those that you harm directly? Did I catch that right?" He wiggled his finger in his ear dramatically, "How many of those are there exactly that you've harmed and then decided to help?"
"There were two." Julia answered softly and they all saw her swallow hard uncomfortably for the first time.
"And who were they? And where are they? And why would you hurt them to begin with?" Tony asked rapidly finding his mind swimming with confusion that any of this was real.
Julia's eyes shifted down and then back up again meeting Tony's gaze, "I harmed them both accidentally once…and on purpose…once."
"Accidentally? And on purpose?" Tony shook his head, "I'm confused. How? How did you hurt them?"
"When I gave birth to Lena," Julia's eyes flickered over to her beautiful daughter now sitting in Katherine's lap playing with her doll, "I could not stop the force of energy leaving my body and I broke their hands."
"Whose hands?" Tony asked more quietly gulping slightly to hear she had broken their hands in delivery.
"Mine." Katherine answered for Julia, whom she was looking at cautiously, warily and protectively. "And the President's."
"The President's?" McGee gasped, "As in our American President now?"
"Yes." Katherine answered flatly, "Lena was born rather unexpectedly and early, in the middle of the Oval Office." Her hand danced delicately down the little girls head and shoulder with a loving stroke. "It was not intentional on Julia's part."
They all sat completely stunned, first at hearing the kind of energy coming from Julia in delivery that she could break both of their hands simply by holding hers, and second, that this child before them was in fact, born in the Oval office with the President holding her mother's hand in delivery. His attendance at birthday parties was now explained.
"And the ones on purpose?" Tony asked going back to his original question, "Why hurt someone on purpose only to heal them again?"
"Again, that was I you are asking about." Katherine spoke as Julia was clearly not comfortable talking about this, "She was unable to control herself at the time. I had just activated her protocol. I was harmed in the process."
"Wait, you activated this weapon protocol we heard about? The Phoenix Protocol? Why?" Tony asked with soft gasp of disbelief, "If she is your own daughter…why?" His thoughts were suddenly racing back to this woman's comments in his apartment just days ago of saying how she could understand Eli David's situation at times with Ziva and his eyes narrowed now thinking of her doing the same with Julia. "She was your project?" He asked incredulously.
"No, she was never my project." Katherine shook her head sharply and reached for Julia's hand, squeezing and holding it. "Ziva, your parents were not the only ones subjected unwillingly to participate in the Genetics Program. I had no choice about Julia. None. The only thing I could do, was try to protect her over the years as best I could. I was forced to activate her protocol as the only one who had the passkey sequence, trying to protect her. At the time, when her protocol was activated, the immediate aftermath was devastating. Those who previously had activated were immediately killed by The Phoenix for activating her."
"Why?" Ziva asked quietly this time, looking only at Julia and wanting to know why she killed those who activated this protocol.
"Because at the time, they were holding back my abilities with this protocol, so they could use them as they wished. When my energy is forcibaly held back for long periods of time like that, and then set loose," Julia paused swallowing hard, "There is an explosion of energy that comes from my body I cannot contain. The pain is so excruciating…it is like fire consuming my every cell from the inside out. All I want to do is make it stop and I cannot see anything by white-hot rage at the person who has done this to me."
"In that case, it was me who had activated her." Katherine finished when Julia quite speaking.
"But…she didn't kill you." McGee narrowed a single eyebrow speaking in a near whisper to hear such a thing described. "Why?"
"Because she made me remember in that moment that she loved me," Julia spoke again, "And that she would never cause me this kind of pain intentionally. So I stopped killing her…and I repaired the damage I had done."
"Which was?" Tony asked now finally speaking again now those his voice was calm and quiet in astonishing disbelief to hear them tell this story.
"I caused a cerebral hemorrhage and shattered her arm." Julia answered him quietly.
"And you repaired them?" Tony asked with nerves clawing at his insides of even thinking about letting this woman try and repair Ziva's damage when their baby was at risk. He wanted a miracle, but this was too unknown and frightening.
"Yes." Julia nodded softly. "I know you are afraid I will do more harm, Tony. But I promise you, I will not. I have control over my abilities completely, now that my protocol has been removed."
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to need more proof that this is real before I let you anywhere near the woman I love and our child." Tony shook his head. "Prove to me this isn't some kind of elaborate parlor trick and that we can really put our faith in you."
"She doesn't have to prove anything to you." Katherine was immediately on the defensive in mother bear mode, McGee nicknamed it. "You came to us for help, remember, Agent DiNozzo?" She glared at him.
"Please, Tony." Ziva reached for his arm trying to calm him and stop him from speaking, understanding his fears but also not wanting to rock this very tenuous boat. "Julia," She addressed her for the first time by name directly, "Before I consider letting you try in regards to the baby, would you…could you," Ziva stumbld over the right words to ask without demanding, "Be willing to show us on another injury that would not have such tragic consequence if this doesn't work?" She took a deep breath.
"Ziva," Tony immediately tried to interject and Ziva squeezed his forearm.
"Tony, let her try." She looked at him intently that she needed to do this.
Ziva laid her badly damaged hand on the table between she and Julia, exposing the grafted skin and marred flesh that had all but crippled the use of her thumb on her right hand from the bullets devastation.
Julia looked at the hand lying before her and stared quietly for a moment. "Jack, take the baby please?" She spoke quietly passing the newborn to her husband carefully and then looking back to Ziva's hand.
"Ziva, this may hurt a little." Carefully, Julia lifted Ziva's hand from the table and wrapped both of her hands around Ziva's, encasing it between her palms and fingers. She took several deep breaths and then stare directly at Ziva, her intent eyes once more locking onto Ziva's brown depths and this time, because of how close they were all sitting to Ziva on this side of the table, they could see exactly what she had described happening to Julia's eyes before. The gold flecks seemed glow brighter and turn to liquid pools of flames for several long moments.
Ziva felt the immense pressure in her hand and the heat with the tingling sensation again, hissing in a breath as the pain caused her to gasp loudly feeling the sensations of bones, muscles, skin and tendons shifting tightly and then it began to dissipate quickly.
Julia's eyes slowly began to go back to normal with the gold pools shrinking once more and then she smiled softly, pulling her hands away and laying Ziva's hand back on the table.
Ziva lifted her hand and spread her fingers widely for the first time since it was shot, easily flexing it into a fist and spreading it out again, turning it over and over to reveal flawless skin on either side. All evidence of the skin graft was gone as well as the dip in her hand from previous muscle tissue lost. Her hand was perfect.
"No elaborate parlor tricks, Agent DiNozzo," Katherine spoke quietly with an edge to her tone of annoyance.
"I don't understand how this is possible." Tony gasped with tears welling in his eyes at taking Ziva's hand and feeling the skin and having her hand once again be able to wrap around his fingers as it used to. "How is this possible?" He asked again with eyes flashing up to Julia's, "Who are you? Really?" He asked swallowing the lump in his throat.
"Call it what you will… the religious call her a miracle sent by God, a new Messiah; the scientific community call her the next stage in human evolution with her advanced genetics," Katherine spoke answering for Julia who was carefully taking her sleeping baby back from Jack. "She is a gift…to be respected and never again, abused because of what she can do." She added in a steely tone that was definitely very mother bear protecting her cub. "Julia has decided that she wants to help you. I stand behind her decision, but I will not stand by and let anyone abuse her in anyway ever again. You can take her help, or leave it. But you will treat her with respect or you will leave. She may be an extraordinary human being, even a higher being then all of us… but she is still, a human being! Is that clear?" She asked Tony specifically, done putting up with his slander and insults at this point.
Tony nodded softly swallowing hard again and now feeling terrible for insulting that which he didn't understand. He'd momentarily forgotten what Vance had told them about what was done to this woman before him to create The Phoenix, the kind of sheer hell she went through in a training program that made what Ziva had gone through look like Nursery School and to have the man she loved and then her children ripped away from her…breaking her down so they could use her as a weapon. He suddenly felt very ashamed for, ever mocking her, even when the information given to them seemed so impossibly untrue. She deserved respect, not for what she may potentially be able to do to help them…but for what she'd already been through and done. "I am sorry, Julia." He apologized quietly, showing his weakness.
Julia reached across the table and took hold of Tony's hand and once again, he felt the electric tingle shoot up his arm at the touch. "It's okay. I understand how difficult this is to digest. It was for me as well." She let him off the hook with a small smile, "And for them." She nodded to both Katherine and Jack. "I cannot explain to you, why I am, the way that I am… I wish I understood it myself." She spoke softly, "But I do believe, I feel it deeply in my soul, that I was meant to do good things in this life with what I've been given. So many people have used these gifts…for bad." She shook her head softly with tears welling in her eyes though she was successfully in blinking them back, "Please, let me help you and use them for good." She smiled, "Your daughter has a great purpose in life too. We need to work together." She looked back to Ziva, "You can never escape The Council, I have learned this lesson painfully, painfully hard…so you must stop trying to get away from it, and instead, embrace it. What it was originally supposed to be. And help me, get it back to what it was meant for. Peace and prosperity through world unity. My children must inherit these seats, yours too. The best we can do for them, is to help makes things right again before they are old enough to take over and teach them well through life and love and hard, honest work. To make them good people first, and heirs to their kingdoms second." She smiled softly, "Our lives will make a difference and so will theirs. I will help guide you through what I've already learned, and what she is still teaching me," Julia smiled over at Katherine, "About how to navigate the world of politics for The Council duties if you accept the position as the Middle Eastern Division heir."
"But my life, my home is here now. I can't just leave them," Ziva looked around at Tony, Gibbs, McGee and all those she loved in this country, "And go back to Israel."
"You don't have to. I am holding the seats to three divisions for my children and we have made a deal that I am allowed to raise them all here, so long as I take the appropriate measures to raise them in their respectued division as well. We spend the winters and a month of the summer each year, staying in our estates in the UK, Russia, and Sweden. I want them to have a balance of both royal, and real. Their lives will one day be consumed with their duties and responsibilities but only, if they do not have a good foundation on which to stand. There are ways to make it work and still be able to have your own life." Julia smiled softly taking hold of Jack's hand, "You just have to know what sacrifices are worth it and which are not." She paused, "You can either keep fighting against a system you will never win against, or you can find a way to help change the system. That is what I am doing. What we are doing." She smiled at both Jack and Katherine.
"This is a lot to think about." Ziva spoke softly trying to digest all that was said and what happened.
"Unfortunately, you do not have a lot of time to think about this. Once we go in and get Liat back, without some kind of plan in place they will come after you both to take your children and then kill you for standing in the way." Julia answered quietly, "Liat is doing okay right now. I have been calming her, though she doesn't know it. The baby is growing well and is healthy. Take a few days if you need to and decide, talk it over with those you love." She smiled at the group gathered around Ziva.
"You can speak to Liat?" Malachi asked immediately in a quiet voice and Asa perked up as well. "Even from here?"
"Yes, I can." Julia answered, "Though she does not know its me. That would only terrify her further in their psychological breakdown of her, to hear a strange voice in her head."
"Then how do you speak with her?" Ziva asked with peaking interest once more.
"I use her own voice inside her head to think things through, pushing her thoughts into a better place, or getting her to concentrate on the good and reassurance that someone is coming for her." Julia answered and smiled softly, "And you are also having a girl, Malachi." She informed him quietly, "Congratulations."
"Does Liat know?" He asked with choked voice.
"Yes, they told her upon her arrival. She has known for sometime. She too sings lullabies to the baby. You both have beautiful voices." Julia smiled back at Ziva.
Silence fell over the table as everyone contemplated what she had said.
"I mean no disrespect when I ask this," Tony clarified immediately watching himself when able now, "But besides the ability to speak telepathically and heal people…which are incredibly impressive in their own right, really. Is there anything else that you do?"
"I can do many things, Tony." Julia smiled softly, unwilling to reveal anymore, and shifted the sleeping baby in her arms again slightly. "I do know that you are due for your weekly ultrasound tomorrow, Ziva. I have the facilities here and a very trusted physician on staff if you would like to have that done."
"Why do you have a physician on hand when you can heal?" Tony asked again and then remembered, smiling and answering his own question, "Because you can only heal people in your bloodline…or those you've harmed. And clearly, not everyone who works or visits you here, is blood related. Sorry. Sometimes my mouth works before my brain and it seems to be much worse since coming out of the coma." He realized he was rambling again.
"It is okay." Julia smiled softly.
"If we do this, with the baby. When…" Ziva asked quietly still marveling over her hand and face and thinking about her fragile pregnancy, "When can we do this? If we do this?" She squeezed Tony's hand knowing they would need to talk about it alone and in private first but needed the facts first.
"It would be best in the early morning tomorrow. My energy levels are generally at their heighest then, after sleeping. It won't take as long to heal you and will be less painful for you, the quicker I am able to do it. I run in the mornings usually to burn off the excess energy." Julia answered her quietly with a small smile. "We can take a look at your latest ultrasound this evening and you can decide then if you'd like. Please excuse my very sudden departure but I must check on my children." The smile on her face seemed to fall softly.
"I can if you need to stay." Jack offered watching as Julia stood with the baby.
"Thank you, but I need to do this one. It's Kristoff again." She added quietly with a flash of sadness racing through her eyes, looking at Jack and he nodded softly and kissed her cheek. "Please excuse me. I will speak with you all later."
They all watched her go quietly and saw the looks of upset pass through both Katherine and Jack's features as Julia left with deep sighs.
"He seems to like mischief, that one." McGee smiled trying to lighten the mood and remembering the children's banter from a couple of days ago.
"Yes, he certainly does. He's having a difficult time right now and is finding trouble more often then not these days." Jack answered quietly staring over at Lena who had fallen asleep against Katherine, but still clutching her doll tightly by the arm as it hung off to the side.
"I am going to go put her down." Katherine announced, standing with a soft smile and excusing herself as well to take Lena inside.
When she had gone silence had once again fallen over the table, "It's not easiest being the oldest." McGee shook his head with a soft smile thinking of his own situation. "And two new babies, I'm sure is another big adjustment for him." He commented going back to Kristoff as kids were usually a safe topic. People liked talking about their kids in his experience.
"Yes," Jack nodded quietly, "But it's not the twins that has him so upset these days. It's the impending birth of his father's child that has him feeling misplaced." The tinge of anger and sadness in his tone was hard to miss. "And as a result, he takes it out on his mother unfortunately."
They all shared side-ways glances remembering parts of Vance's story about a forced separation between the two had broken the rules by falling in love as a prince and a spy. The condition for her to get the child back was for him to marry someone else and create a new heir. They could think of only one Prince, the world was eagerly awaiting the birth of his child at this moment and that piece of this puzzle clicked into place.
"His biological father…is Prince Henry." Ziva spoke quietly looking at Jack.
Jack nodded softly with sadness in his eyes, "Kristoff is having a really difficult time right now. I thought the wedding was difficult enough to deal with when that happened, but this is much worse." He sighed deeply, "Much worse."