Ziva finished up washing the dishes, rearranging the cabinets as she put them away. She was wasting her time away, the loneliness catching up to her as she realized it was bed time. It was silly, of course. Throughout her whole life she never depended on anyone, hell, no one could depend on anyone in Mossad. Then she happened to come to the U.S in hopes to drag Ari's stupid ass home and that's when everything changed. Had she not of meant Senior Agent Anthony DiNozzo Jr. in the bullpen of NCIS, her life would be extremely different. She could've been dead by now, most likely. No one planned out their marriages and children, let alone their future in Mossad. You did your duty and you kept retrieving missions, no looking back. Her fate adequately meeting Anthony DiNozzo's and she felt into this distinct rhythm of a normal life.

She used to hate sleeping next to somebody. Missions in Mossad simply forcing her to sleep with a man, kill him and then leave before she even would have to lay next to him for the rest of the night. There had never been anybody she felt particularly comfortable with, or desired until Anthony DiNozzo Jr. came around and threw that notion into the trash. Now, here she was, worried about sleeping alone with the thoughts nightmares returning or an intruder lurking in the pitch black through while she was alone with her children. Sure, she could quite obviously take an intruder down, but there was something about Tony that kept her guarded…safe. That was it. He was her safety blanket, the remainder that no matter what, he would be around the corner killing someone if they ever tried to take her on and endanger her or the kids. But, he wouldn't be there anymore to save them.

Happy endings didn't exist in Ziva David's world.

She closed the curtains on the kitchen window, flicking the overheard light and fan off. It was time for her to finally face her demons. As she creeped by the front door, there was knock. She became skeptical, thoughts returning to her head and she slowly backed in to the kitchen without a sound, claiming a handgun that was strapped to the wood, inside of a cupboard. Making her way to the front door, she peered through the stained white glass, trying to make an image out of whoever stood behind it. The figure knocked again, barely startling her already tense body and she raised her gun, stepping closer to the door. She unlocked it, opening it slowly and glancing through the crack.

"Gibbs," She sighed, lowering her handgun down and opening the door more.

"You okay, kid?" He gestured towards the loaded gun in her hand, stepping inside.

"You startled me that is all. I was putting away dishes." She advised, her heartbeat quickly settling down and her blood returning to a normal flow through her body. "Is everything alright?" She asked, wondering why he would visit this late at night.

"Yeah," Gibbs said, following her into the kitchen while she strapped the gun back into the kitchen cupboard. "You don't think having a gun in the kitchen is a bit paranoid?"

"No," Ziva shrugged, "Now that I am alone, I would like to feel protected at all costs. Would you like some coffee?" Her words came out quickly, not going unnoticed by the elder man.

"I'm good, thanks." He commented, watching her skeptical looks through the picture window in the living room. "You sure you're okay?"

She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "I am just on cliff tonight…"

"On edge," He corrected, glancing towards where she was looking to make sure everything was clear. "The kids asleep?"

"Yes, they went to bed a few hours ago. Ty is…" She looked for the words, "Ty is very unsure about where his father is. I think it is worrying him more than usual. I know they saw the woman, but I do not think they can figure the rest out. It did not help that Tony and I argued and were barely around each other both days that he was here."

"It's normal for the kids to be worried." He smile was small, and he took his overcoat off, hanging it on one of the kitchen chairs by the table. "They know what it's like to have both of you here and getting along. I remember Kelly always hated when her mother and I fought."

Ziva bit her lip, thoughts racing through her head and he could tell what she wanted to ask, but was too afraid to ask, so he spoke before she could. "I've seen him. He's pretty fucked up, not going to lie. He, uh, he just booked a flight to head back."

"Oh," The only word Ziva could let out when she realized he knew all along what she had been thinking about asking. Now that it had been let out in the open, the words stung more than she thought. It had been a week since she had seen him, but she thought he would fight for his family. Fight. Fight hard. Except, he wasn't even doing that. Sure, he had begged, but begging never got anyone anywhere, did it? She wanted a plausible apology, not an excuse for how he didn't know how he had ended up at the hotel with Lisa. The tears in her eyes were on the verge of spilling now. Everything was done, he was heading back to his new life in New York. She tried to keep it together and wait to explode when Gibbs would leave, but her emotions wouldn't hold in. Tears started streaming out of her eyes as soon as the sobs shook her body and Gibbs moved towards her, pulling her close.

"I gave him a piece of my mind, just so you know." Gibbs admitted, trying to get a chuckle out of her, but it didn't happen. She trembled in his arms, the fear of her past coming to haunt her and her children.

-x-

Perhaps, it would always be her motherly side that kicked in when the ideas of a danger in the house hung in her mind. The nightmares however, they came on their own and the only thing that took them away was