Ziva presented Liat with options to help make it easier. "You don't have to see him at all today. Or, he can just come in to see you, say hello and not speak of anything else. Or, I can have him come in with Tony, McGee, Gibbs and E.J. as they too, are all anxious to see your beautiful face." She smiled more widely catching a small smile in Julia's eyes at the mentioning of those names, "Or, you don't have to see anyone else today. You can rest and take some time to process what you've already learned today and we'll all just wait patiently outside until you are ready."
"I do not think I can handle speaking in depth with Asa right now. I am already on emotional overload." Liat admitted quietly and feeling guilty for not speaking with him now after she just had with Malachi. "But I would like to see him. See everyone but maybe, just a couple at a time?" She asked softly still feeling anxious about this really being real. Her hand once again going to calm the baby in her belly that always sensed her anxiety and began shifting about.
"Okay." Ziva smiled softly seeing Liat once again running her hand over her belly. "Malachi said he felt the baby moving and kicking for the first time." She smiled softly thinking about when she was going to start feeling her own child do the same, and hoped it would be soon.
"She has been very active for awhile now." Liat smiled softly unable to not glancing down at her shifting belly, "Do you want to feel?" She asked quietly not sure if that was something Ziva was interested in or not and feeling strange about asking.
"I would love to." Ziva answered her quietly and held her hand out for Liat to place where she wanted to on her belly. It didn't take but a second with the active baby's movements to feel the hard kick and then roll beneath her palm. "Wow…" Ziva gasped softly with tears in her eyes, "Amazing." She smiled softly at Liat as their joined hands continued to feel the baby moving. Without saying anything else she leaned forward and kissed Liat's forehead and brushed her hand over her cheek. "You are a great mother." She smiled trying to reassure her seeing the lingering fear in Liat's eyes over becoming a mother after everything that had happened. "I will go get them."
Ziva had brought them back to see her, two at a time. First Asa with McGee and then Tony with E.J. Each only greeted her with smiles, soft kisses to her forehead or cheeks and light hugs while keeping it short and sweet at Ziva's warning that Liat was already on overload. That she wanted to see them as much as they wanted to see her, for reassurance but that she then needed space.
Gibbs was the only one to enter the room alone and greeted her with the same soft smile. When he sat down on the edge of the bed, he greeted her with a kiss to her forehead, much like he'd always done to Ziva and then took a seat.
"It's good to see you again, Liat." He smiled softly speaking quietly. "We have missed you. Our team just wasn't the same without you." He offered letting her know how valued she really was as a member of their team. The last time he was alone with her and speaking of such things was the night of Ziva and Tony's engagement party when he invited her to stay on should she choose that option.
"I have missed all of you as well." Liat spoke with new welling tears in her eyes; her emotions were always right on the surface these days having been broken and pregnant as she was. "I am still very confused, Agent Gibbs." She admitted softly, "And nothing is making much sense right now except…that I want to go home. Ziva said once, that home is where the heart is and I realize that is true. Right now, the only sure place my heart knows as home is…in D.C. with her." She brushed away a fallen tear in thinking of her new found sister as the one thing she knew now to be constant in her life. Ziva's fierce loyalty to those she loved and saw as family were obvious to everyone, and Liat knew she could at least count on her. "And with all of you." She smiled softly at the group of people who had come for her as well.
E.J., Tony, McGee and Gibbs, all Americans, all her temporary team and all willing to die to save her. She understood all the more now why these people had meant so much to Ziva and why after they rescued her in Africa, she had little trouble leaving Mossad behind. It wasn't about the institutions or the agencies or the countries at all. It was about the people. And these people loved and cared about her enough, to come for her. Malachi and Asa had come too, but she couldn't think about their reasons right now. Those were very different matters of the heart.
"I don't want to make any big decisions right now about my life but," Liat swallowed hard brushing her hair over her ear, "I want to go back to what I know. So if it is okay with you, I would like to resume my position as the Mossad Liaison Officer for now, and keep working with your team, Agent Gibbs." She asked tentatively worried he may not let her given all that had happened and without committing to NCIS permanently.
"It would be our honor, to have you." Gibbs smiled at her softly, thankful to hear she wanted to come back and hear her describe it as 'home.'
"Thank you." She smiled softly feeling slightly relieved.
"I'm sure it will be no problem to arrange with Director Vance." Gibbs gave her hand a light squeeze.
"Director Vance is back now?" Liat asked surprised. She had not seen the man since her previous visit to Washington, D.C for the summit conference many years ago ago and things were much different then. She and Malachi were still partners and only sleeping together, and Director David was just that, her Boss and not her father.
"He came back shortly after you went missing." Gibbs answered her realizing how much she still had to learn. "He showed up in Israel at Ziva's house offering to help the morning they were shot."
"The morning Tony and Ziva were shot?" Liat asked quietly trying to put the pieces together.
Gibbs nodded softly, "The very same." He thought about how eventual that morning had been.
"But that was not that long ago. A month or so, at most, right?" Liat asked still confused about the timeline as all days in captivity began to drag on forever.
"Yes," Gibbs answered having an idea of where she was going with this given she had been a part of Ziva's recovery process and known how long that took.
"Then I do not understand how it is possible for Tony to be shot in the chest and nearly die given the wounds I saw in those photos…and still be able to come along as part of the mission to rescue me and take out Illan? It took Ziva months." Liat asked with narrowing eyebrows remembering her rescue, "Especially how it could be possible for Tony to actually lift and carry me from that room." She paused gauging Gibbs reaction. "How is that possible, Agent Gibbs?"
"Julia." Gibbs answered in a single word with a soft smile thinking of all the woman had done.
"Ah," Liat sighed in contemplation remembering what Ziva had said, "The angel in black leather."
Gibbs nodded softly, "The very one."
Liat still didn't understand who this person was or how any of what she knew to be true of this woman was possible; but given that both Ziva and Agent Gibbs, as two people she trusted, were speaking of this person as factual and not a figment of Liat's imagination, she had to believe they were telling the truth.
A vision of the beautiful fierce woman gently touching her face and smiling leaving a warm tingling sensation behind flashed before Liat's eyes and intermingled with the vision of the same woman with fiery eyes pulling Ziva back across the room from going after Tony. It happened so quickly that Ziva's feet didn't touch the floor as the building was coming down around them with the simple wave of her hand.
"I want to believe you, I just do not understand how that is possible." Liat spoke the truth of what she was thinking.
"None of us understand how it is possible, Liat." Gibbs gave her a small smile and cupped her hand in both of his speaking slowly and quietly in his fatherly way, "We just know now, that it is. And it is something you likely will never believe, until you see it for yourself."
"What do you want to do about tonight?" Tony asked Ziva as they sat quietly in the hospital room waiting chairs, "You can't sit in this chair all night. Especially not after so many days in the field." He worried about her lack of real sleep in a proper bed.
"I will be fine, Tony." Ziva tried to assure him shifting in her seat. She wanted to believe that was true but her leg and butt were already going numb from so much sitting the past 12 hours, first on the plane and then in these chairs. Pregnancy was already having an effect on her body, whether she wanted to admit to it or not. "I don't want to leave her."
"You need to rest, Ziva." Tony smiled softly at her, trying to hold back his concern for her that had gotten him and them into much trouble but it was hard, especially seeing how pregnant Liat was and knowing Ziva wasn't far behind her. Soon, Ziva would have a very visible baby belly with an every growing baby inside and his heart lit with joy. The idea of finally seeing Ziva with a baby belly was a dream coming true, and it came with relief to know they no longer had to worry about potentially losing this baby or Ziva never being able to have another child after Julia had healed the damage. "I know you are a super fierce, kickass Ninja, but you're also pregnant and have been going not stop on this mission for days. You need a real nights sleep in a real bed."
"Can we talk about this later?" Ziva asked stretching out in the chair, "Let's see how she's doing in two hours. In the meantime, can you please get me something to eat, My Little Hairy Butt." She winked at him speaking quietly and in her French accented voice she'd used on that mission so long ago, "We are hungry." She smiled speaking for the baby for the first time as a unit, feeling safe in the knowledge that Julia had healed her and she wasn't going to lose this baby now.
"Sure thing, Sweetcheeks." Tony smiled remembering that morning well when she had walked out of the bathroom on their undercover Op proclaiming, 'Tony, I'm pregnant' and killing the moment of asking out the FBI Agent before him. He'd teased her that same day that he could imagine her pregnant and the reality before him now was even better. He'd gladly dote on whatever she wished. He grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her with a smile, deeply first and then two quick pecks as he tried to pull away, jumping a little when Ziva swatted his butt as he was leaving.
As soon as he'd turned he caught Henry's smiling eyes as he'd witnessed the exchange coming down the hall and headed in the same direction as Tony. Both walked side-by-side now in silence towards the Break Room with food and drinks on the other side of the big metal doors.
Tony felt awkward in the presence of the prince, alone with him for the first time and especially after the moment he'd had with the man's son and unsure now if he had over stepped his boundaries and upset the man.
"How long have the two of you been engaged?" Henry finally asked pouring himself a cup of tea while Tony rummaged around in the cooler for something that Ziva would eat.
"Engaged?" Tony asked with surprise in his voice and sudden smile as the first time that someone had asked that question with everyone else in their life already knowing having been a part of that evening. "Not long." He smiled more widely sifting through yogurt parfaits and turkey sandwiches. "Mid-April."
"Ah," Henry smiled with a sway in his tone, "Congratulations. You both seem incredibly happy."
"Thank you." Tony smiled more warmly watching the man beside him carefully. "We are." He gulped softly seeing the change in Henry's demeanor and sudden look of sadness.
"Never take it for granted." Henry nodded softly staring into his tea. "I did…and now I'm only ever allowed to touch…or kiss the woman I love when she's unconscious."
Tony sighed deeply thinking about Julia and the interaction he'd seen between the two. His own heart and mind recalling the time when he had done the same with Ziva after she was shot, unable to touch her, or kiss her and tell her how she felt except for when she was unconscious and now that was all Henry was limited to. "I am sorry."
"Please, don't be." Henry turned with a soft smile, reaching out to touch Tony's shoulder as he faced him. "You should celebrate your for love each and every chance you have. Kiss her all the time and tell her every day how much you love her. Never take for granted each day you get to see her smile." He sighed softly, "You never know how much those little things mean until they are gone from your life." He dropped his hand and looked away, "I wake up every morning lying next to a woman I wish was someone else." He paused for a long moment in silence, "It's not her fault, and it's not mine. It just is."
"I can't imagine how difficult it must be to not be able to be with the person you love." Tony empathized with the man, thinking of waking up to other women in the past few years and wishing they were Ziva after waking up next to her that day in Paris.
"There is no one like Julia and there never will be." Henry sighed taking a sip of tea.
"I certainly can't argue with that." Tony smiled softly catching Henry's gaze, "She has done more for Ziva and I, then I could ever be able to repay. She has healed our wounds, saved our baby and made our future as a family together possible. Without Julia…I'd have lost everything." He sobered realizing how true that statement was.
Henry smiled softly with a slight head nod, "Then let our love and life be a lesson for you and repay her simply, by living the life we will never have again. Cherish each other and never take a single moment you have together and as a family for granted."
Tony nodded softly, swallowing the lump in his throat. "I will never forget anything about my encounters with the beautiful and majestic woman know as The Phoenix." He smiled softly, "Julia…and everything about her is truly unforgettable." The lessons he'd already learned in the past week of being with her had changed his life significantly. She was certainly a legend with good reason.
"That may be the most true statement anyone has ever made, Agent DiNozzo." Henry smiled sadly with a head nod. "Unforgettable indeed." He paused, "Thank you, for speaking with my son." He added quietly.
"He's a good kid." Tony smiled softly thinking of Kristoff, "I think he did more for me in that conversation then I did for him, though." He sighed picking up a spoon for the yogurt and fruit parfait he'd settled on for Ziva. "He and Julia both." He paused adding quietly, "I've been giving Julia a lot of grief lately concerning my own issues. All things considered, she's been very gracious and understanding with me. She is an amazing mother."
"Yes, she is." Henry smiled softly, "Best wishes for the future, Agent DiNozzo." He extended his hand to shake.
"Tony." Tony accepted the handshake with a soft smile. "And thank you. I wish the same for you, Your Royal Highness." He fumbled with the formal address realizing he hadn't yet acknowledged Henry as such.
"Tony." Henry repeated accepting the informal name, "And you can call me Henry."
"Not Hank, huh?" Tony teased with a smile and earned a wider one from Henry for the first time.
"Never Hank, Tony." Henry smiled emphasizing the 'never' and gave him a slight head nod as he passed and then stopped in the doorway turning around, "Tony, be kind to Julia, please… I've given her enough grief for ten thousand lifetimes." He added softly. "She may be incredibly strong and formidable on the outside, especially given her abilities… but her heart is as delicate as a butterfly's wings: beautiful and capable of such great things, yet easily destroyed with carelessness. Julia's most amazing gift is her ability to love, even when we don't deserve it. She understands, it's likely when we need her love the most." He paused, "Just like she brought my children to me when I failed to go to them. Just like, she helped heal you, even when you failed her."
Tony nodded softly with a sinking heart, washed over once more in a wave of guilt for contributing to her already complicated life. Hearing Henry speak so eloquently of Julia and in knowing her so well, only added to the heaviness of what he was saying.
"Do not take what she has chosen to give you for granted, Tony." Henry added quietly, "Or you will end up like me, regretting it every day for the rest of my life." He nodded softly holding intent eyes with Tony for a moment to convey the seriousness of this message and warning and then was gone.
Tony stood quietly just staring at the empty doorway for a moment before he moved, gathering the things for Ziva he'd collected. He wasn't going to take anything for granted anymore. To never waste the good in his life and try to see everything, even the challenges that came their way, as a new opportunity to make things better.
For as much strife and struggle as he and Ziva both had in their lives, recently they'd had as many miracles. He was now counting his blessings. As long as Ziva and the baby were safe and they were all together, everything else was icing on the cake of life.
"I asked the Nurse on the way back what our options were for staying overnight." Tony sat down with smile, passing over the food to Ziva he'd gathered for her. "She said it is generally frowned upon in this large of group, but she did say that they have roll away portable cots with real mattresses that you can sleep on in Liat's room should you decide to stay. Problem solved!" He smiled more widely, "You get to rest on a real bed and not leave your sister's side."
Ziva smiled more widely at Tony for having found a solution and understanding so well why she needed to stay. She leaned in and kissed his lips and Tony relished the contact, remembering well what Henry had just said to him. "And what about all of you? If you are not allowed to stay overnight where will you go?"
"Julia owns a large home in Kensington, not far from here. There are eight bedrooms and plenty of space for everyone. You are more then welcome to stay with us." Katherine and William walked up with a soft smile overhearing the conversation.
"That is of course, if you don't mind playing Scrabble in your underwear, Agent DiNozzo?" William asked with a serious expression and then everyone laughed at the look on Tony's face as though he'd eaten crow to know that Katherine had shared that story with her husband, the former President of the United States.
"I'm never going to live that down, am I?" Tony deadpanned looking right at Katherine who raised her eyebrows with a tight-lipped smile and shook her head 'no' which only caused another round of laughter.
When it was time to leave and the goodbyes and goodnights had been said, William walked up to meet them but not Katherine, Henry, Kristoff or the baby Jillian, who were all were noticeably absent.
"Katherine is not coming?" Tony asked softly, finding himself a little disappointed that she wasn't coming along.
"Henry is staying, and Katherine will not leave Julia's side like this. She doesn't trust anyone else with her safety when she is in a vulnerable state especially here." William added quietly with a slanted eyebrow as they all flashed to Prince Louis threat in their minds. "No one gets between that Mama Bear and her Cubs."
"Yeah, Jack sort of warned us about that." Tony smiled softly and William nodded with soft laugh as they all stepped into the elevator leaving.
"He's a good man who learned quickly to step aside when Kate's protective shields go up." William added softly as they rode towards the parking garage, "She was always a fiercely protective mother since the moment Kelsi was born, but especially so after Julia was and she had to stand aside and watch, unable to protect her or have any say in her life." He paused speaking with a sad tone.
"Thankfully, I was President by the time Julia's full hard training program began so we were given updates on her status and reports once she went fully active in the field. Given my position as President, we had some say at least in what missions she was going on given she was part of the North American Division. We tried to have her assigned exclusively to my office trying to shield her but they forbid it, as she was Kate's child. They knew she was trying to protect her, especially after Kristin died and Julia was left so exposed to the program. Their response to our request was to have Julia stationed for the summer in Brazil stalking and hunting Human Traffickers and Drug Dealers in the slums of Rio and Sao Paulo as part of her training. She was only fourteen at the time." His eyes met theirs who all at once grew wide and astonished to hear how young she was when this all began. Vance hadn't been exaggerating that portion of his story either, of fully trained elite assassins going into the field at age such young ages.
"One of the most vivid memories I have from that time is coming home from the office," William began his story again, and they all marveled to realize he was speaking 'thee office' as in The Oval Office so casually like any other old day at work. "I'd just called Boris to congratulate him on winning his Second Term in Office in the Russian Elections held that day. Kelsi was having a sleepover with a couple of girlfriends and they were sprawled out on the floor like normal teenage girls with pizza and watching the new movie Independence Day on our living room floor. They were giggling and laughing about how cute they thought Will Smith was," He smiled and they did too at the image that presented of life growing up in the White House and could imagine Kelsi at that very age and doing something so normal.
"I said hello, chatted with them for a minutes and asked Kels where Kate was. She said on the roof." He answered quietly turning around to look at them while they walked off the elevator, "I knew that Kate went to the roof to think and that something must have happened. I found her up their pacing like a caged tiger and when I asked her what happened, she shoved a briefing report into my chest with tears in her eyes and said that Julia had been shot for the first time on any mission." He paused with a deep inhale and sigh, "Thankfully, she was okay. But it was this tremendously surreal situation for the both of us as we walked back downstairs and heard Kelsi laughing and acting like a normal sixteen year old with her friends in the safety of our living room while Kate's other child, just fourteen years old, was half a world away in some jungle getting shot at by Human Traffickers. She vowed that night as we lay in bed listening to those girls giggling and playing their music in Kelsi's room that she would do everything in her power to protect Julia as much as possible and I vowed the same. Much of Kate's political career was positioning her to do that very thing." He surprised them with that knowledge.
"As long as she had a toe in the pond, we could keep tabs on Julia. It was literally the first day in office as Secretary of State in January of 2009 that Kate was finally able to get the access on Julia she'd been denied before. This time, she was able to track her movements nearly daily and find out what The Council and Ulric were up to now. Kate was now in the perfect position to help just as the war really began heating up between Julia and The Council. Kate had only just learned about Rurik being taken from Julia and her mission to get him and Kristoff back. She was trying to keep Julia out of trouble from the sidelines, fearing for her life as death threats were made should she continue. But Julia is Kate's daughter," William smiled widely with emphasis and a small laugh, "And that girl wasn't about to back down when someone had taken her children. So many battles between those two then and countless tears shed as all the odds seemed stacked against them, but here we are today." He paused with a contented smile, "And no one will ever get between Kate and Julia again, or question her motives or intentions and abilities as her mother."
"Like Julia with her children." McGee made the connection with a soft smile.
"Exactly." William smiled softly with a small head nod, "Both had their children taken from them and forced to the sidelines and both fought the world in their own ways and together, to get those children back and protect them. No one gets between Julia and her children now and no one, will ever get between Kate and Julia now either." He paused again with a smile, "And I would never want to. Kate has earned the right to do what she feels is best for Julia and I respect that very much. She'd been denied being that child's mother for nearly 30 years by the time she and Julia had made peace and were free from the chains of their shared past. Kate is thrilled to have both her girls now. Kelsi is thrilled to finally have the little sister she always wanted in Julia and I am thrilled… that my girls are thrilled and now, I love spoiling my grandchildren." He smiled with a deep laugh with his southern drawl, "I love the sound of a house filled with children's laughter."
Gibbs agreed with a smile inside that the idea did sound more and more appealing as he got older. Having both Liat and Ziva expecting little girls around the same time filled him with a sense of excitement and joy he hadn't thought about in a long time. Papa Gibbs was becoming a reality.
It was on the third morning of Liat and Julia's stay in the secret layers beneath the hospital in London that Liat was ready to make the journey back to the States. Everyone arrived to the hospital that morning with eager smiles anxious to take Liat home. The group now stood congregated outside her door while the nurse finished speaking with Liat privately. Liat could walk now, given her strength was coming back with proper nourishment and hydration and the chance to actually lie down and rest, not chained to a wall.
Julia had been slowly improving and each were hoping to get a chance to say goodbye, even if she wasn't conscious yet.
When McGee and E.J. walked down the hall with Wiliam to greet Katherine, all three stopped dead in their tracks looking through the glass.
They stare in silence for several long moments before McGee turned his head, "Guys…" He called to them with voice cracking, "You better come take a look at this."
They all shared looks amongst each other seeing the three standing still as stone and white as ash looking through the glass as they approached.
When they stopped before the glass each of them gasped as well, taking on similar expressions and coloring.
Katherine was standing with her back to them, holding the baby in her arms with Henry beside her, his arms wrapped around Kristoff standing in front of them. All of their eyes were held fast to Julia as well. The heart monitor she was hooked up to was no longer blinking green but flashing red as her heart rate had soared to over 280 beats per minute. Julia still lay perfectly still and unconscious with one exception; she was now levitating nearly three feet above the bed covered only by the white bedsheet and all of the lose items in her room, including the chair Katherine usually sat in, were levitating off the ground with her.
"My God," Malachi gasped in astonishment saying out loud what they were all thinking.
"She wasn't kidding." Tony marveled remembering his tease to Julia about flying and her answer that she levitated.
"And on the third day, she rose again from the dead…" McGee gasped softly.