AN: 2 Chapters tonight. Be on the lookout for the second.
A few moments of silence went by with them staring quietly at Jack while he seemed to stare off into the distance wherever Julia had disappeared to. "Given that Prince Henry is Kristoff's father, I assume that he is the one who will inherit the Northern Europe seat on The Council?" McGee asked wondering how all of this fit together.
"Yes," Jack nodded and eyes flashed to engage them again, "Kristoff will inherit Northern Europe not only because of his father but because the children's grandmothers are also Swedish Nobility. Kristoff was born and raised in Sweden. We still spend a great amount of time there. Lara will inherit Eastern Europe and Russia, from her biological father, and Lena will inherit North America…from her mother and Grandmother after the restucturing of The Council." He smiled softly.
"Lara will inherit, not Rurik?" Ziva asked slightly surprised to hear this, "How did they decide this if they are twins?"
"Rurik is the declared Romanov heir." Jack spoke quietly seeing their eyes widen, "He will inherit that empire eventually as his birth rite. Lara will inherit their seat on The Council. Each inherits something and they must all work together this way."
"Their father…was a Romanov?" McGee asked with eyes widening further when Jack nodded, "How was that possible? I thought the whole family died in 1918…or are they a descendant of those cousins who survived?" The Romanov flag in the front of the house was now explained.
"No," He shook his head slowly with a soft smile, "Prepare to follow as this is confusing. Mikael, Julia's second husband and biological father of the twins," Jack spoke slowly as if still mulling that information over himself, "Was the Tsarevich and Romanov heir after his father, Mika. Mika was the son of Empress Marie. Marie was the third daughter of Tsar Nicholas II."
"So it was the Grand Duchess Marie that surived, not Anastasia as the rumors suggest?" McGee was completely enthralled now.
"Yes," Jack nodded softly, "That is a very long and sordid story itself." He shook his head slightly, "But with Marie, Mika and Mikael all deceased now, Rurik inherits the empire, which is quite vast to this day, just well hidden. Lara inherits Marie's seat on The Council, but until such time as they are grown, Julia, who is still technically the Dowager Empress, maintains control of all things Romanov."
Cowboy Cody's mentioning to Ziva in the truck ride about Julia's 'duties' overseas and feeling more comfortable in boots and jeans on horseback then dressed up and conversing with Kings also now made a great deal sense, given her role as Dowager Empress.
"Mikael was killed in the war?" Ziva asked quietly for confirmation of what Director Vance had told them as to why Julia was widowed.
"Yes, he was." Jack nodded again, "That was before I met Julia. I never knew him."
"And how did you meet Julia?" Tony asked giving him a small smile, trying to bring things back around to a happier topic, speaking of the present instead of the past.
"I worked for Katherine then, and she sent me to assist with an Op that Julia was running inside Russia to get the children back." Jack answered, "Somehow through all the running and fighting for our lives across the world… literally through blood, sweat and tears…we just sort of fell in love, I guess. She did not trust me at all when we first met and I did not trust her. I thought she was this crazy exotic woman of mystery and we butted heads on more then one occasion. But eventually, we became partners then friends then more." He smiled looking over at Ziva and Tony, and already knowing their backstory, "Something I think you two are familiar with, yes?"
Tony and Ziva both smiled at him and then at each other.
"The mission was Operation Sunshine?" McGee asked with a smile, hearing of the Russian Op to get the children back.
"No, that too was before my time with Julia." Jack shook his head softly, "It was a long war, Agent McGee. Julia would get the children, they would take them back, she would get them again, and they would take them back. It went on like this for too long. We met on Operation Borscht Relief." Jack smiled and then chuckled seeing their faces.
"Operation Borscht Relief?" Malachi asked with an amused grin. "Who comes up with these names?" He laughed softly shaking his head.
"That would be Julia's sense of humor there." Jack shook his head smiling as well. "Before their rescue, Kristoff had been crying to Julia that he couldn't eat anymore Borscht as his caregivers at the time in Russia were insistant that he eat it multiple times weekly. He was only five at the time and in tears on a daily basis when he spoke to her, begging that she please save him soon and save him from the Borscht." He chuckled as did they.
"And Operation Sunshine?" Asa asked quietly still smiling, "Where did that name come from?"
Jack smiled softly and his voice became soft with the emotion behind it, "When Kristoff was a baby, Julia would rock him to sleep at night singing lullabies. They always had to be sung in a certain order, because he knew the routine by heart." He smiled, "When they took him away…the last time she saw him again for years, she sang the last lullaby in their routine, You Are My Sunshine."
The irony of the last lyrics of that lullaby were not lost on any of them and it was hearbreaking to think of them now as Julia sang them, 'please don't take my sunshine away…' and then they had taken her little Sunshine.
"Julia said that when it came to naming that Op, she was on a mission to get her Sunshine back again and hence, the name was born." Jack added softly with a sweet smile. "She still sings that song to him. To all of them now."
Another somber silence had fallen over the group again and Tony took it upon himself to change the topic back to something funny, "So Julia does have a good sense of humor then, right?" He asked thinking about her laughing at his insult of calling her peanut butter.
Jack laughed, "Oh yes, she does. Quite wicked like Katherine at times so consider yourselves warned."
"I still can't get over imagining Secretary Thorne as being so…" McGee shook his head contemplating all he'd seen of her.
"What McGee? Funny? Loving?" Tony asked with smiling eyes having the same trouble any mystified by the woman they thought they knew and the one they were seeing now.
"Human?" McGee asked with a choke in his voice, "She's just so…formidable."
Jack laughed and shook his head, "Yes, she is that and all of the above too. We quite enjoy her company and William. They are here quite regularly now that she has resigned. Dare I say, I may be one of the few who actually likes their mother-in-law?" He laughed more, "I did not always feel this way about her though, trust me. Dealing with that 'formidable side of her' tried every bit of my patience for quite some time as we tried to navigate the system for Julia's freedom and the chidrens. We did not always see eye to eye on how best to do things."
"And who won those arguments between the two of you?" Tony asked with a mischievous smile just imagining such battles.
"She did, of course." Jack answered plainly with a smile and they all burst into laughter, "Like I said, nothing…not even me, gets between that Mama Bear and her Cub."
"So she's very protective of Julia then, I take it?" Tony asked remembering his earlier very stern warning to treat Julia with respect at all times coming from that very same Mama Bear in Katherine Thorne.
"You have no idea, how protective. The night Lena was born, she went so far as to stab herself in the chest with a letter opener to secure Julia's freedom with the President." Jack shook his head still in awe and the others gasp.
"Why?" E.J. asked horrified.
"Because they only still saw Julia as a weapon and would not think of her capable of anything else. They weren't going to let her go without proof, so Katherine in her desperation to prove her point, that Julia was a gift not a weapon…that she was capable of good too… stabbed herself so that Julia could show them first hand, that she had the power to heal, not just destroy." Jack explained, "Also proving that she believed in Julia so much, that she was willing to die to obtain her freedom."
"My God…" Tony gasped softly unable to stop himself, looking at the woman now approaching again from across the lawn.
"Julia, of course, healed her immediately but the point was proven and she had her freedom." Jack smiled softly seeing Katherine getting closer now as well and added, "There is no love, like a mother's love and their willingness to do whatever it takes for their children. Especially with these women." He smiled and stood, leaning over to kiss Katherine's cheek as she took a seat, having no idea what they were speaking about but smiling at hearing the last part and Jack's kiss to her cheek. "If you will all please excuse me, I hate to leave so abruptly as well but I want to check on Julia with Kristoff." He nodded at them, "I will see you all later."
"You must have been speaking about me given the way you are all now staring at me." Katherine smiled cutting right to the chase. "Only good things, I hope." She teased lightly.
"Yes," Ziva smiled with tears welling in her eyes again to hear of that mother's love between Katherine and Julia and her attempts to free her child. "We were just hearing about some of the tremendous lengths you and Julia have both gone to in order to make sure your children were safe. The bond of love… is very moving." She added softly with a smile trying to hold back her tears in thinking about her own child.
Katherine smiled softly shifting in her seat and clearly slightly uncomfortable to be cast in such a light, "Are you not doing the same, Ziva, right now by being here?" She asked softly with a quiet smile and slanted knowing eyebrow, "Going to this tremendous length to protect the ones you love?"
Ziva smiled softly with a small head nod that was true and a single tear finally fell with her emotions running on such high with her pregnancy and all that was happening.
"I know you are afraid, but you should let Julia heal your wounds, Ziva." Katherine added quietly after a moment had passed, her tone now was soft and rather motherly they all decided which stunned them even further to see this side as well. "She was not born with these abilities as you know them now. They were always in her genetic make-up, but not active. It was only after enduring immense suffering and near death, that her genetic mutations were triggered and released. Like nature, she evolved to survive and that is how she became The Phoenix…literally, rising from the fire and ashes of unspeakable tragedies committed against her." She paused clearly getting choked up herself in speaking of such things and that stunned them literally into complete silence, "They have tried thousands of times to recreate what happened in her genetic sequences and every time have failed because no matter how much they have tried to play God with genetics, they are not… and something of a higher power is still in control and cannot be explained, no matter if you are religious or not..." She inhaled a soft shaking breath.
"What happened to those people? The ones they tried to recreate Julia's genetics with?" Ziva asked quietly after a moment thinking about what Katherine had said.
"In their attempts to recreate what happened with Julia, they pushed those people as hard as they had pushed Julia, trying to get the same genetic reaction to happen with those mutations and each time it failed. Instead of evolving, they all died excruciating deaths instead." Katherine spoke softly relaying that tragedy, "Man did not create Julia in the end, it was something much higher that cannot simply be duplicated. She is a gift and she has a purpose far greater then even I understand. I've been in politics a long time, and she was able to stop more evil and wrong in the world, in just a few years by standing up for what was right, then I likely will in my entire life. When she began her quest to change The Council even I was a disbeliever that it could ever be done, certainly not just one person making a difference and a girl of her age at the time. But her story, became the voice of many and they all banded together and finally, the tides had turned."
Katherine looked only at Ziva now, "Julia has already fought all the battles for you, Ziva…the war is already won. There are those in the Old Guard who still refuse to let the ways of the past go, but they are heavily outnumbered and will eventually fade away. Their time is coming to an end, sooner than later now. You are now facing a few holdout zealots who hope to use you and your child, and that of your sister, by controlling your seat on The Council as their springboard to relaunch their agendas. We have shut down the main Genetics Programs and more every day. They are scrambling to hold on to it, hold onto those bloodlines they've spent years crafting. You are one of those they are trying to cling to. They think you are the most vulnerable for targeting because you were kept in the dark for so long about the truth. And they are right, that does make you vulnerable, it already has. You were at a disadvantage not knowing any of this. That has changed now." She smiled softly, "With knowledge you now have options. If you take over the Middle Eastern Division seat as is your birthright, it is expected that your child will inherit from you as it is easiest to teach your child and pass it down then to teach a stranger…but no one, will be taking your children away in the new Council, Ziva. Your children, your genetic material, are your own to keep. They are not property or possessions…and whoever told you otherwise, is a part of the Old Guard, the old Council still trying to cling to life."
In an instant, all of their minds flashed to Ray and remembering what he'd said. Given this new information, he was speaking of the Old Guard, which meant that is what he was apart of as well.
Julia with her arm around Kristoff suddenly emerged from around the house and all eyes fell on them as they continued on inside, chatting softly to each other, though Kristoff's head was bowed towards the ground.
"You should let her help you with the baby, Ziva. Don't take this chance for granted." Katherine spoke again softly keeping her eyes on both Julia and Kristoff with a sadness in her tone, "There are some wounds from the past that will never be healed. If you have the chance to heal some, you should take them." Her eyes slowly drifted away from the door where the two had disappeared inside and back to Ziva.
"I can only imagine how upsetting this must be for him right now." McGee shook his head softly leaning forward to rest his folded arms on the table, thinking about his own complicated relationship with his father who was never there given his status in the Navy.
"For them both." Katherine added quietly. "She is just better at hiding it."
"So she still loves Henry…" Tony stated the question more then asked realizing what Katherine was saying about why Julia would also be upset at the impending birth of his child, the world was eagerly a waiting on.
"Very much so." Katherine nodded softly, "And she likely always will. They did not choose to separate, they were forcibly torn apart. If the two of you were in the same situation, and forced apart, would you love each other any less?" She looked between Ziva and Tony.
"But she seems to genuinely love Jack…" Tony stated softly remembering the interactions he'd seen between the two.
"She does, but have you never loved more then two people at the same time?" Katherine looked at him with a knowing brow and Tony's mind instantly flashed to loving both Jeanne and Ziva at the same time, even if he wasn't admitting it out loud, he loved them both in different ways for different reasons. Ziva was thinking of the same thing, as well as her own situation with first Michael and then Ray and all the while loving Tony too.
Malachi and Asa were both instantly thinking of their own situations with Liat. They both knew, she loved them both and in different ways and at the same time.
"Society says you should only love one person at a time. The heart doesn't always agree. You may only be able to be with one person and make a life with them, but that does not stop you from loving the other." Katherine added quietly.
"But if the old Council who forced them apart are gone now, what kept them apart after its fall?" E.J. asked feeling her heartbreaking for this situation.
"By the time the old Council was gone and Julia was given her freedom, too much time had passed. The devastation of lives they would leave in the wake of their love, would be too terrific to justify being together. Julia had already begun to make a new life with Jack; Lena was literally born the night her mother was finally given her freedom." Katherine sighed shaking her head slightly and folding her hands on the table threading her fingers, "And at that time, Henry did not remember who she really was or Kristoff either."
"When did he finally remember them?" Ziva asked with tears welling once more in her eyes.
"He remembered twice before during the time of the Old Council, before the last time," Katherine paused and shook her head sadly, "And had threatened to abdicate the throne in protest if he was not allowed to remarry Julia and proclaim Kristoff as his heir. They said that Julia was no longer an acceptable wife and future Queen, given her history and a danger as The Phoenix. Henry was furious and continued to fight them, so they rewiped his mind. His handlers realized that was no longer a long-term solution as he and Julia were forced to spend months together during the Social Season at various parties and would see each other given her responsibilities as the Dowager Empress and Romanov Representative at these things she must attend for her children's futures. The more he saw her, the quicker the mind blocks fell and he'd remember. It served its purpose to them though, as it got Henry through marrying Elizabeth and after that it did not matter if he remembered again. To the world, Elizabeth was now his wife and future Queen and Julia and Henry's fate was sealed. When Henry remembered Julia and Kristoff again months later, it was too late. Julia and Jack were married and now so was he." She sighed deeply, "In this case, love did not conquer all… life conquered their love."
Before leaving the main house later that afternoon, Ziva had another ultrasound that confirmed the same situation with the damage to her uterus. While the baby was growing right on schedule and healthy, her uterus was already beginning to fail more noticeably. The news was not good. The risk now of doing nothing seemed far worse then letting Julia try as her own physician expressed deep concerns the pregnancy would not lost much longer given this state.
Both Ziva and Tony had similar thoughts in thinking about what Katherine had said in not taking this chance for granted. They were terrified, but had decided that this was their best hope for a good outcome and to let Julia try. The plan was now in place for her to come back to their lodge in the morning.
Ziva and Tony lay snuggled in bed that night with neither able to sleep thinking about the baby and their life and what they'd learned today about Julia's past.
"If I had married Ray, and made a life with him…had children with him," Ziva spoke quietly into the darkness with her hand over Tony's heart and head on his chest, "Would you still have loved me?" She asked thinking about the stuation with Julia, Henry and Jack.
Tony was quiet a moment thinking about it. It was painful to even think about. Imagining her married to someone else, having a family with them. It would hurt like hell, be completely unbearable and sheer agony the more he thought about it. But the reason for all that pain was crystal clear… it was because he loved her and always would. "Always." He answered quietly giving her the truth and dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "It has to be so difficult for Jack. To know that she is still in love with Henry and always will be, no matter how much she loves him." Tony added after a moment, knowing exactly who she was thinking about that brought on this question as he'd been thinking about them too. "It reminds me of Asa with Liat and Mal."
"Liat really does love Asa, Tony. She could be happy with him, just as Julia is with Jack." Ziva added softly turning to look at him, thinking of all her late night conversations with Liat over the subject.
"I know." Tony acknowledged softly, "Asa knows she loves Mal and loves her just as much anyway. Enough that he is willing to raise Mal's baby as his own with her. Not unlike, Jack, I guess in helping to raise Julia's children from previous relationships." He sighed, "It just makes me sad, all the way around…for all of them, because someone is always hurt." He held Ziva a little tighter, "I can't imagine what that must be like, to literally be forcibly separated from the person you love and have a child with, and then watch them make a life with someone else, all the while knowing you still love each other." He pondered it with sadness and disbelief as that was the situation from both sides now for Julia and Henry.
"It's heartbreaking." Ziva whispered and turned her cheek to lay over Tony's heartbeat once more, holding onto him a little tigher. "Unless Malachi figures things out, this is exactly what he and Liat will be facing." She added after a moment thinking.
"I think he's trying to, Ziva." Tony ran his hand down her back and fingered through her long tresses, taking comfort in just being able to hold the woman he loved close like this, not taking even this simple contact for granted in this moment. "I don't know how he could not fight for her after going through all of this to get her back."
"You didn't." Ziva spoke quietly, not accusing but simply stating, "You came all the way to Africa and rescued me, admitting you couldn't live without me and then when we got back…things went back to the way they were. We both knew we loved each other and still, nothing changed."
"Well, let's hope they learn from our mistakes, and don't take this chance for granted." Tony pulled her closer, "They have three choices to be together the way I see it and make it work. One, Liat resigns from Mossad as she intended to do anyway and marries the Director of Mossad." He smiled softly, "Two, Malachi resigns as the Director of Mossad, and follows his wife Liat to the US where she will become a very Special Agent like her big sister as part of Team Gibbs. Three, they both resign and take up playing Scrabble in their underwear with former President and Secretary of State." He added with a smile and chuckled when he felt Ziva giggling against his chest. "Personally, I prefer Option Two, as it means we get to keep the Little Ninja around…and with her baby and ours being born around the same time, means that our Mini Ninja will grow up with a cousin nearby, and I like that idea." He added softly with a smile, thinking about not having any siblings of his own.
"And if Asa is the one who makes her happy? And she chooses to be with him and have a life?" Ziva asked thinking about the other man in her sister's life she loved and who loved her.
"Then all three options still apply, with the slight difference in title given Asa's position at work…and I still prefer, Option Two for the same reasons." Tony smiled, "I can't help but root for Team Mal, but I'm still ultimately on Team Liat. I just want her to be happy."
"I just want her back." Ziva whispered feeling new tears in her eyes. It had been nearly two months now since she'd last seen Liat. "Safe and sound."
"Me too." Tony agreed quietly, kissing Ziva's head again. "I can't help but be hopeful now that the pint-sized package of peanut butter is going to change the tide in our favor." He smiled more widely thinking of Julia and trying to make Ziva smile as well.
"Creamy, smooth and likely delicious…" Ziva repeated what he had said to describe Julia while insulting her and quirked her eyebrow with a slight smile replaying it in her mind, "Just what were you thinking, Tony, that Julia didn't say it out loud out of respect for me anyway?"
Tony looked at the dark ceiling with wide eyes, mentally berating himself for setting that up to walk right into. "I'm going to plead Coma Pyschosis on this one, Ziva." He finally said and she laughed softly against him. "I just wish I could do the things to you that I want to right now. If only our bodies would cooperate." He sighed thinking of his healing lungs and her delicate pregnancy. "If Julia could heal me, I would absolutely let her put her magic hands all over me." As soon as it was out of his mouth he realized how bad it sounded when Ziva went completely still beneath him, "That's not how I mean it! I meant that if she could heal me, I would gladly let her touch me…no that doesn't sound any better!" He sighed in frustration and growled, "What I mean is, if whatever she did to me allowed me to heal faster so that I could put my hands on you I would be happy. Very happy."
"She is very beautiful." Ziva smiled softly at Tony's word jumbles and explanations, understanding why he was so flustered.
"She is," Tony agreed softly, "But you're still the most beautiful woman in the world, Ziva David."
"To you…" Ziva smiled at his ways of trying to flatter her.
Tony turned her to look at him, "Does anyone else matter?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow and slight smile, "I thought I was the only one you cared about being beautiful for?" He cupped the side of her face teasing, "And for the record, no, not just to me. You are gorgeous not just to me but to everyone else."
Ziva leaned down and kissed his lips, thankful that for once, his scattered brain said something right to calm her emotional pregnant nerves.
"I'm thinking about asking Julia to heal my other scars," Ziva added quietly, "If she can and is willing." She lay back down again with her chin on Tony's chest, draped slightly over him as she look at him for a reaction. The idea of having the scars from torture removed were both exciting and saddening at the same time. They had become a part of who she was and in the last few months, Tony and everyone else who saw them had begun to change the way she looked at them and herself. They were her badges of honor and courage for what she'd lived and survived through, as well as horrific reminders of what was done. A double-edged sword.
"I think its up to you, Ziva," Tony looked at her carefully, searching her eyes for why she wanted to do this and what she was thinking. "No matter what, I will always think you are the most beautiful, gorgeous, sexy woman out there and nothing will change that. Scars, no scars, you are the woman I love and that isn't changing."
"How will I explain them to our daughter one day?" She asked quietly thinking about what her child would think, when she saw the marks on her mother's body from bullet wounds and torture and repairs.
Tony took a deep breath and ran his hand down the side of her head. It was honesty something he hadn't thought of yet, but clearly her own motherly instincts of protection were in overdrive already in thinking of their child. "I think, that if you keep them, we will tell her how incredibly brave and strong and courageous you were that you have survived so much. When she is old enough to understand, we tell her the full truth of just where they came from."
"I do not want to see that look in her eyes." Ziva spoke quietly thinking about what he'd said and envisioning one day telling her daughter the truth of what had been done to her mother.
"What look?" Tony asked not understanding.
"The one, where she realizes I am not her all powerful mother, who can face any danger and make everything okay. To fall from the pedestal in her eyes that I was weak and this is what happened to me. That moment when she realizes…that I am not perfect any more in her eyes." Ziva felt the tears filling her eyes once more and failed to blink them back quickly before they fell silently. "The loss of her innocence, Tony." And the realization, that bad things really do happen in the world and sometimes, not even Mommy or Daddy can stop it or make it all better.
Tony understood now, exactly what she was talking about. In fact, when she'd first come to work at NCIS and they were trapped in the shipping container, he had teased her in his incessant questioning about the first time she ever realized her 'daddy wasn't perfect.' Ziva had given him a look, of recent hurt and realization, that he didn't understand then. He did now after knowing the truth about what happened with Ari. When she'd come to that realization about her father, Ziva had left him and the country to be as far away as possible. She was likely thinking about her child doing the same and fearing that the truth about her mother's past as an assassin and the things she'd done, would eventually drive their child away and the relationship would never be repaired. This was about so much more then the visible scars. This was about the internal ones as well.
"Ziva, you are not your father." He spoke quietly holding her face gently in his hands with nothing but love in his eyes, "You have nothing to be ashamed of in your past that is even remotely close to the things your father did to you and your siblings and mother. Nothing. Our daughter will know the truth someday and she may be confused at first, but we'll be there to answer her questions and make sure she knows we love her. We won't keep the truth from her as your father did from you. We will tell her the truth in different ways as she grows so she won't be blindsided. You are going to be a great mother, Ziva David. You already are…simply by worrying about these things and thinking of the future."
Ziva inhaled a soft sob hearing Tony's words and leaned forward to kiss him again. Her mind had instantly flashed to lying in bed that night with Liat discussing her own baby and how Ziva had said nearly the same thing to her that evening about being a good mother, because she already was in worrying about the future.
She smiled at him through her tears as Tony thumbed the remnants away. "I love you, Tony. Thank you for loving me."
"You never have to thank me for that, Ziva. Never." He looked at her with a soft smile and kissed her again. "Ani ohev otach."
When morning had finally come after a mostly restless sleep, they were once again surprised to come downstairs early and find Julia was already there and waiting with coffee for them all and a smile.
"Good morning." She greeted the sleepy faces as they walked into the kitchen. Each having decided to get up at the same time to offer support to Ziva and Tony, knowing how anxious they were for whatever was going to happen this morning with Julia and the baby.
Julia began passing everyone's coffee out exactly the way they liked it, some black, some with cream and sugar, others just with sugar, others just with cream and some with milk. To Ziva she handed a glass of orange juice. They all shared looks amongst each other at just how well she knew them.
"So do you read everyone's minds, all the time?" Tony asked being the brave one of the bunch again and giving her a small smile as he took a sip of his coffee. "Or was this just to get our coffee orders this morning?" He teased, slightly but mostly out of nerves.
Julia gave him a tight-lipped smile in return. "I do not read everyone's minds all the time. Once I know someone and believe they are no longer a threat, I respect their privacy and stay out unless the situation calls for. While observing all of you, I happened to learn a few things along the way." She shrugged with a soft smile and tease of her own, "How you take your coffee, is just one of them."
"So other then our coffee interests, what else did you learn about us?" Tony asked with growing nerves about the baby and why she was really here, finding it easier to tease with her then face what was coming.
"Many things, Tony." She smiled at him softly, "I can learn a lot about a persons character, from the memories they have and hold most dear to them. You each, have some beautiful memories." Julia paused and gauged him before speaking quietly, "That which is essential is invisible to the eye." She looked soflty between Tony and Ziva seeing the surprise in both of their eyes at knowing of that memory, "Your mother was very beautiful, Tony." She smiled at him with a softness in her voice, "She reminds me a lot of my own mother."
"My mother reminds you of Katherine?" Tony asked trying to deflect his own heavy emotions right now at thinking of his mother, wishing she were still here to calm his nerves and share his joy over becoming a father with the woman he loved.
"In some ways, yes," Julia smiled and then shook her head, "But not that mother. Your mother reminds me of my mother Kristin. They were very similar." A sadness filled her eyes, "She too, died when I was a child from Cancer."
They were stunned to hear this information. They realized it made sense, that she was raised by 'someone' other then Katherine obviously, but they hadn't given it much thought with so much information coming at them.
"She was the mother who raised you?" Ziva asked quietly with sadness in her heart to hear this woman shared this terrible pain with Tony.
"Yes," Julia answered with a soft smile, "She gave birth to me. A beautiful, smart, funny woman who loved good company, good books, good laughs and the escape…of movies." Her eyes flashed to Tony. "She was a nurse a healer in her own right."
"She was your surrogate?" Tony asked trying to choke back the tickle in his throat not wanting to tear up thinking of his mother.
"Yes and no. She was also my mother. Biologically as well." Julia smiled turning at the counter and reaching for a glass to fill with water. Clearly this discussion made her uncomfortable as well. "I have more then one of those."
"You have more then one biological mother?" McGee gasped with wide-eyes wondering how that was possible.
"Yes, I have three." Julia turned after taking a sip of water, "I am a Designer Baby, Agent McGee. A very complex story, but I have three biological mothers and one father, though 95% of my genetic make-up came from these three women alone. My mutations were carried on the X chromosomes. Kristin, Maria and Katherine. All three equal parts my mothers." She smiled softly recognizing the surprise in their eyes. "There is much you have yet to learn about the capabilities of genetics these days."
"And Maria, who was she?" Ziva asked swallowing hard having heard nothing so far of the second mother listed.
"She was a beautiful Swedish noblewoman who looked just like Grace Kelly to the outside world," Julia smiled clearly thinking of the woman fondly.
"And to the inside world?" McGee asked with slanted eyebrow realizing what she wasn't saying and yet suggesting with that statement.
"She was an elite spy…assassin during the Cold War Era. She was incredibly talented with knives." Julia smiled softly watching their mouths fall open a little further. "But enough about me." She set the glass of water down, shifting the attention away from herself and clearly jumpy to a degree. "Are you ready, Ziva?" She asked with a soft smile. "If we are going to do this, we should do it now. We'll be leaving to get Liat before lunch."