"Daniela!" Tony jumped up from the bed and rushed into the main room. "Baby...talk to me." He motioned desperately to McGee who nodded and began to type wildly.
"I am sorry." She cried, her voice breaking on the other side of the line. "I am sorry."
"No no...it's not your fault. We love you guys. It's not your fault. You did nothing wrong." Tony waved at Ziva who scrambled into the room. Jenny threw her the other phone to her.
"Dani."
"Mummy!"
Ziva swallowed hard and collected herself. "Where are you Daniela?"
The girl looked around briefly, her eyes meeting James's before looking down. "In an office."
"Are the men with you?"
"No..." She shook her head slowly. "James let me use the phone."
"James? Who's James?" Tony interrupted.
"My friend from school." Daniela said sadly.
James laid a hand on her shoulder and pointed to his watch.
"Mummy...Papa. Do not come and find us. They will kill you. They do not want Jacob, just me. Just let me die instead." The girl said before the line went dead.
Tony and Ziva exchanged glances that said more than words ever could.
"Tim...were you able to trace the call?" Tony asked, his voice shaking.
McGee typed for a few seconds. "We have it."
"Let's go." Tony jumped up, pulling Ziva to her feet.
"Tony." Gibbs said slowly. "You and Ziva stay here."
"But BOSS!"
"Stay. You two are too invested and we can't risk anything going wrong." He stared at the two of them with a glare, though softer than his usual one. "McGee, Jenny. Let's go."
Abby waved as the three left and took a seat beside Ziva. "They're going to be alright. Gibbs'll get them."
Tony nodded silent, the phone still in his hands. Ziva looked around before putting her head in her hands, her dark hair covering her face. The only sound was Ziva's almost silent cries, that broke both of their hearts...
#
Gibbs pulled up outside of the building that McGee had pointed out to them. "McGee you go around back, Jenny you come with me." He said gruffly, throwing open the car door.
They watched as McGee quickly ran around to the back of the building.
"Clear here boss."
Nodding towards Jenny, they walked towards the entrance their guns cocked. Yelling could be heard from the inside.
"YOU DID WHAT? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LET THE LITTLE JEW GIRL USE THE PHONE!" A smack quickly followed.
"On my count McGee." Gibbs whispered. "One."
They took a step closer.
"Two."
Crouching they braced themselves.
"THREE."
Gibbs kicked the door down, Jenny beside him, their guns ready. "FEDERAL AGENTS! PUT YOUR HANDS UP!"
They stared at each other, two men, one holding Jacob in front of him and the other holding Daniela like human shields.
"Put 'em down or the Jew kids get it." The one holding Jacob sneered. "The retard'll get it first."
Jenny and Gibbs slowly began to place their guns on the floor, giving a silent signal to McGee who made his move...tackling the smaller of the two men and allowing Gibbs to take the larger. The children broke free from their kidnappers, both running towards Jenny...
#
"Tony, we have them." Jenny said, her arms wrapped around the two children. "We have them."
"Thanks."
"We're taking them to Grant Macy Hospital. Meet us there."
"Right." Tony put the phone down and looked at Abby and Ziva. "They're being taken to the hospital." He said quietly. He pursed his lips, his eyes filling up with tears. "Zee, they're okay."
Falling to the couch, he buried his head in his arms. "They're okay." Gasping, he struggled to get oxygen.
"It is okay Tony. It is okay." He felt Ziva and Abby's arms around him, not telling him that it was wrong to cry, not telling to suck it up and be a man. Not telling him anything at all.
They sat in the car. Jacob squealed and squirmed, his little hands grabbing at everything and anything. He plastered Jenny with kisses and wrapped his arms around her neck. His fingers moved gingerly, his face wincing at certain movements, but his face was happy.
Daniela on the other hand sat on the car, silent tears running down her face leaving trails on her dirty cheeks. She shied away from any and all contact, pulling her knees to her chest and pulling Jenny's NCIS jacket over her.
"Daniela?"
The girl ignored her, closing her eyes tightly and refusing to open them until she heard Ziva's voice.
"Daniela?"
The girl ripped the jacket off her face and threw herself into Ziva's arms.
A look that had never graced the Mossad officer's face was evident. Love. Pure love. Tony watched as he held Jacob close to his chest. "It's okay." He muttered. "You're okay." The boy gave him a small smile and gingerly made a few signs. I love you. Tony sighed and pulled the boy closer as they walked into the hospital.
"I'll go with Jake...you go with Dani." Tony said placing Jacob on a gurney.
Ziva nodded and helped Daniela onto the rolling bed. A look of terror crossed the girl's face. She grabbed wildly for Ziva who reached out and held her hand.
"It will be okay Daniela. They just want to make sure you are okay."
"Do not let them touch me!" The girl screamed. "No no no no no!" She flailed her eyes wild. Her breath came in short gasps, her small body overtaken by tremors.
"She's having a panic attack." A slightly familiar voice from behind said. "We're going to have to sedate her."
Dr. Jeanne Benoit came from behind and gently placed her arm on the girl who tensed and tried to break free. "What's her name?"
"Daniela." Ziva said tightly.
"Daniela, I am going to give you some medicine to help you sleep." She said softly, giving the girl an injection. Quickly, the girl's blue eyes closed and she fell against the bed.
"We will need to get samples off of her." Ziva said to Jeanne.
"We'll put her in room 8." Jeanne said, brushing the girl's hair to the side.
"Toda." Ziva closed her eyes and gathered herself before walking over towards Gibbs, Jenny, McGee and Abby. "We require samples." Her voice was barely audible, her body shaking.
"I'll get them." Abby said, giving Ziva a quick hug. The Mossad officer nodded blankly, her eyes watching as the gurney containing Daniela rolled by.
Silence is not a friend when you're alone. It is even more unnerving when you're with friends. She could hear her blood pounding in her ears, hear the monotonous sounds of the hospital, hear her own panicked breathing. Silence was not a friend. Daniela's voice it was different. It was panicked, it was hurt, it was broken. She walked over to where she saw Tony disappear with Jacob, welcoming the sounds that surrounded her.
"How is he?"
Tony turned around and gave a short smile. "He's going to be sporting some scars and casts on his hands...They broke them so he couldn't 'talk.''
Jacob waved at Ziva, his right hand already casted in a blue fibreglass cast. With his one free hand, Jacob slowly signed to her. I love you
Ziva smiled softly, wrapping her arms around the boy. When she pulled away, she placed a kiss on the boy's bruised forehead. I love you she signed back.
Daniela?
Other room.
He nodded.
"How is she?" Tony asked, his eyes still trained on the boy.
"Getting tests done...getting samples." Ziva replied softly. "She had an...attack."
"Attack?"
"Panicked." Her eyes were uncertain.
The young ones were always the hardest. Jeanne Benoit tore off her gloves and tossed them in the bin. The girl looked oddly familiar. Daniela Della Roevere. The woman, she looked even more familiar, but she brushed the idea away. She had to talk to the mother. The mother, she was easy to pick out. Dark hair pulled back in a braid, her lithe frame leaning against the wall, hands being wrung in worry, mouth moving in silent prayers.
"Excuse me?"
Ziva looked up and quickly made her way over to the doctor. "How is she?"
"She's going up for surgery now. Her ribs are broken and they punctured a lung. We also did a rape kit..." Jeanne said watching as the woman flinched at the word.
"And?"
Jeanne stared at the woman, at the way she stood, her face hard and carved in stone. "She was raped."
Daniela opened her eyes slowly, the room coming into focus.
"You are awake." Ziva said softly, brushing the girl's curls off of her face.
She nodded slowly. Her eyes filled with tears and struggled to sit up.
"No, stay lying down. You just had surgery." Ziva watched the girl lie back down, her eyes avoiding making eye contact. "Daniela, we care about you. You know that you can tell us anything."
Daniela turned and looked at her for a second before lowering her gaze. "I know."
"Is there anything you want?"
"A shower."
Ziva sighed. "That is the one thing you cannot have until you heal." She got up to move to get a glass of water from the other side of the room.
"No! Please stay!" Daniela shot up out of bed, only to fall back writhing in pain. "Don't leave me alone!" Sobs wracked her body, empty sobs...
"I'm not leaving." Ziva said softly, comforting the girl. "We will not leave you."
"They touched me." Her voice was soft, broken. "I tried to get them to stop."
For once, Ziva was glad Tony wasn't in the room. She sat on the bed and took the child into her arms, rocking her back and forth softly singing.
"Hush now baby don't you cry
Rest your wings my butterfly
Peace will come to you in time
And I will sing this lullaby
Know though I must leave, my child
That I would stay here by your side
And if you wake before I'm gone
Remember this sweet lullaby
And all love through darkness
Don't you ever stop believing
With love alone
With love you'll find your way
My love
The world has turned the day to dark
I leave this night with heavy heart
When I return to dry your eyes
I will sing this lullaby
Yes I will sing this lullaby
Oooooohhh"
She stopped when she felt the girl go limp in her arms, her breathing calming.
"Ziva?"
Looking up she met Tony's gaze.
"Tony..." She couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her face. "They raped her Tony. They raped Daniela."
Jenny stood up as she saw Ziva and Tony storm out of Daniela's room with Gibbs close beside her.
"How is she?"
Tony glared, his jaw hard and his teeth clenched. "Jenny, they raped her. They beat her and raped her. Because of us. Because of us, an 8 year old girl was raped and almost beat to death." He clenched and unclenched his hands at his side. "They broke Jacob's hands so he can't communicate. God Jenny. WE did this to them."
Gibbs sighed and took the younger anger by his shoulder and led him away from Jenny and Ziva. "Come'on Tony, let's grab a coffee." He shot Jenny a look over his shoulder. She nodded and took Ziva in her arms.
"Ziva?"
"She is but a child Jenny. Just a child." She didn't say anything else, just let herself be held. Like she had held Daniela earlier.
AN – The song Lullaby was done by Josh Groban.
So here's the deal. I get you all addicted to my story and now I have midterms, massive papers and projects due and a trip to Victoria for Team Canada Trials. I will do my best to update, but I can't guarantee anything at this moment in time, but we'll see how my time management skills are.