Ziva pulled on her clothes and slipped out of the bedroom. The sun had just set, the dark glow lighting up the room. She could hear Tony snoring from Jacob's room and she was thankful that the boy was deaf. She scribbled a note and left it on the table before quickly leaving.
The roads were quiet, it was to be expected seeing as it was late. She drove to the hospital in silence, alone with her thoughts. The parking lot had cleared out, but still held many vehicles. She threw the vehicle into park and quickly made her way to the fourth floor. The nurse gave her a short nod when she arrived at the desk.
"I can stay with my daughter, right?"
"Sure. Your mother and father in law are with her right now."
Ziva stopped in her tracks and frowned slightly, until she saw Jenny's telltale red hair. "Thanks."
"They've been here since you and your husband left." The nurse smiled sweetly. "I'll call for a cot."
"Thank you." Ziva said softly, walking towards the room. She stopped in the doorway and took in the scene. Jenny sitting on the bed, her arms wrapped around the little girl. Gibbs sitting on the chair, reading glasses on, reading a book to Jenny and Daniela.
Daniela looked up when she heard Ziva enter the room and gave her a small smile. "Gibbs is reading a book to us." She whispered sleepily.
"What book is he reading?"
Gibbs looked over his shoulder and gave Ziva a sad smile. "We're reading the Boxcar Children." He showed her the cover. "It was one of Kelly's favourites."
Daniela shifted on the bed to make room for Ziva. "Mummy, please. Come lay here."
"Go." Jenny whispered softly, gently pushing Ziva towards the bed.
"That sounds great Dani." Ziva sat on the bed, pulling Daniela gently onto her lap. She ran her hands through the girl's soft hair, listening to Gibbs and Jenny trade off reading different chapters. Daniela quickly fell asleep her arms wrapped around a soft stuffed rabbit.
"Thank you." Ziva said quietly.
Jenny nodded. "Sometimes you need a break." She said quietly. "You can't be here 24/7 Zee. We know that. The nurses know that. She knows that."
Ziva gave a short nod, never taking her eyes off of the sleeping girl. The nurse rolled a cot into the room. "Here you go Mrs. Della Roevere." She placed some blankets and a pillow on top.
"Thanks." Jenny smiled at the nurse. "We should get going. We'll be back tomorrow." She walked over and gave Ziva a kiss on the cheek.
"You'll be okay Ziver." Gibbs whispered. "You all will be." He gave her a kiss on the forehead. "How's DiNozzo?"
"He and Jacob were sleeping when I left."
Gibbs nodded. "Try to get some sleep Ziver."
Ziva sighed. "I will try." She sat on the cot, and pulled her knees up to her chest, listening to the beeping of the machines and Daniela's steady breathing.
"Jenny?"
The redhead looked up and gave Gibbs a small smile.
"You okay?"
She shook her head slightly. "You know people are going to get hurt in this line of work Jethro, but...you never think it's going to be a kid."
Gibbs shrugged and poured two glasses of bourbon. "Have a drink."
Jenny looked down at the amber liquid and took a long swallow. "An innocent child."
"Collateral damage." Gibbs said softly. "I know I know, it's a horrible saying especially when relating to children, but that's what it is. People use kids, they die and it's just collateral damage." He sat down on the couch in her office and put his arm around her. "They were just collateral damage in their own little war."
"Jethro, do you think they'll be okay?"
"Kids are resilient."
"And their parents?" She gave him a look.
"It takes time." He admitted slowly. "Tony and Ziva have really taken to them, haven't they?"
"Can you blame them?" Jenny took a sip of the drink in her hands. "Tony needs to take care of someone, it's his greatest weakness, his ability to care. He becomes personally involved with people. Tony loves loving people."
Gibbs nodded and swirled the drink in his hand. "And Ziva?"
"Ziva is a whole other can of worms." Jenny put the glass down and stared at her hands. "She doesn't need anyone. Or at least she didn't. But she needs those kids as much as they need her."
Jacob opened his eyes and tried to look around. He felt warm and safe, still wrapped in Tony's arms. He squirmed until he was able to wiggle free.
He rolled off the bed and ran towards Tony and Ziva's room and threw the door open. It was empty, Ziva's clothes spread on the floor. He frowned and took off for the family room, she had to be there. It was empty, the only thing out of place Ziva's running shoes missing. He walked slowly back to his bedroom and shook Tony awake.
"Hey buddy, what's wrong?"
Jacob's lower lip quivered as he pointed to a picture of Ziva.
"You want Ziva?"
The boy nodded.
"She's probably in the bedroom." Tony said with a yawn. "Why don't we go check?" He allowed himself to be pulled out of the bedroom by the boy. They opened the door to the master bedroom, Jacob pointing at the bed. "Hmmm...she's not here."
Shaking his head, Jacob tried to wipe his eyes with his casted hands.
"Wonder where she went..." Tony picked the boy up and carried him out of the room. His eye caught the note on the table and read it. "She went to see Daniela."
The boy's face lit up at the mention of his sister's name. DANIELA! He signed happily.
"How about we go take a bath and then take Ziva and Daniela some breakfast? And maybe bring your sister some clothes?"
No bath.
Tony shook his head and threw the small boy over his shoulder.
The lid was opening, flooding her eyes with bright light. The air seemed to be sucked out of her lungs, forcing her to gasp for air. His rancid breath was hot on her face, his bloodshot eyes staring her up and down. She shivered, tensing, knowing what was coming next. She begged for Jacob to be taken away...and only let up once she saw the boy was moved...
Daniela sat up with a start, feeling liquid warmth between her legs. Tears streamed down her face as she felt Ziva pull her into her arms.
"It's okay Daniela..."
"I had an accident..." The girl whispered, hiding her face in her shoulder.
"It's okay." Ziva repeated, pulling the girl tight in her arms. "I will call a nurse."
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I did not mean to."
Ziva sighed and pressed the call button on the wall. A nurse came in and gave Ziva a soft smile. She gently pried the girl away and pushed her hair aside.
"Hey there girlie." The nurse gave Daniela a big grin. "My name is Anna."
Daniela gave her a fearful look. "I had an accident."
Anna nodded. "No worries girlie, it happens to the best of us." She pulled the girl out of the bed. "How about you go take a shower and we'll get your bed cleaned up."
"Okay."
Anna led Daniela to the washroom and turned on the shower. "You can hold onto the railing if you need to. There is soap here...and some kids shampoo and conditioner here."
"Thank you." The door shut locking Daniela inside.
"Don't worry, it does happen to a lot of children, especially after something traumatic." Anna stripped the bed and tossed the sheets out the door into a bin. "It is normal."
Ziva nodded and ran her hands through her thick and knotted curls.
"It may take some time...but she'll recover. They always do." Anna smiled. "Why don't you go get a tea or coffee from the cafeteria while she showers?"
Ziva shook her head. "No, I will wait until Tony comes. I do not want to leave her alone again."
Anna nodded. "It's not your fault you know."
"Pardon?"
"Parents always blame themselves, but it's not your fault." Anna sprayed the bed and then placed new sheets on it.
Nodding Ziva sat back down on cot and listened until the water stopped running.
"Two chocolate chip muffins, one blueberry and one fruit explosion...one large coffee two creams and five sugars. Yes, five sugars. One large black tea, one apple juice and one orange juice." Tony asked, going through the drive through. He gave the girl in the window some money and took the bag.
Jacob grinned and began rifling through the bag.
"Hey hey, slow down half pint. We want to eat with your sister and Ziva, okay?"
Looking up, Jacob sighed and put the bag on the floor.
They drove in silence, pulling up to the hotel parking lot. Jacob noticed Ziva's red Mini and started squealing happily. ZIVA he signed quickly.
"Right, we're going to see Ziva and Daniela." Tony put the car into park and helped the boy out of his booster seat. "Come on, let's go squirt." He grabbed the bag in one hand and the boy's hand in another and they made their way up to Daniela's room.
They stepped out of the elevator and walked towards Daniela's room. Ziva was sitting on the bed braiding Daniela's hair. Jacob tore off towards Daniela and Jacob and tried to pull himself onto the bed.
"Hey there little man." Ziva said pulling him up on the bed.
The boy gave Ziva a hug, trying to wrap his casted hands around her body.
Tony placed the bag and drinks on the nearest table and sat on the edge of the bed. He learned over ad gave Ziva a kiss on the cheek and then pulled Daniela gingerly onto his lap. "How are my two favourite girls doing today?"
Ziva smiled. "We are good." She eyed the bag on the table. "What's in the bag?"
Tony grinned. "Breakfast...and something for my special little girl." He pulled out muffins and passed the tea to Ziva. Jacob grinned and passed the other bag to Daniela. It had a soft pair of black fleece pants and a soft green tshirt. It also held other necessities like pyjamas, underwear and socks.
"Thank you." Daniela said softly.
"I also packed your Ipod and some activity books." Tony said with a shrug.
"Thank you Papa." She pulled out the activity books and duly separated the box of crayons and passed them to Jacob. The two children started colouring, Daniela reverting to only signing with Jacob.
"Your Papa and I are going to go outside and talk, okay?" Ziva said standing up from the bed.
"Yes, that is okay." Daniela clucked her tongue at her brother's attempt to colour within the lines with his casted hands. "We will colour."
Tony gave each of the children a kiss on their heads before following Ziva out into the hallway. "Jacob was really worried when you were gone." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close.
"Sorry, I had to come here."
"I know." He leaned his chin on the top of her head and took a deep breath. "How is she?"
"As to be expected I suppose." Ziva inhaled and took in his scent. "What are we going to do, Tony?"
"Right now, we give both of them all the love they need. And we go on from there. Parenting doesn't come with a handbook."
They pulled apart slowly, Tony brushing her hair off her face. "I talked to Jeanne and she was going to call a child psychologist." He continued. "I also brought some clothes for you, they're out in the car."
"Thank you." She stood on her tip toes and placed a kiss on his lips.
Just then a blonde woman came behind them and cleared her throat. They jumped away guiltily. The woman smiled. "Sorry, I'm Dr. Jordan Parker. Child psychologist."
Tony smiled and extended his hand. "Hi, I'm Tony and this is Ziva. Della Roevere."
"Daniela is your daughter?" Dr. Parker asked flipping through a chart.
"Yes. She is 8. She is in the room with her brother, Jacob." Ziva said crossing her arms across her chest. "What are you going to do?" She hated therapists and was wary of the gentle looking woman.
"First, we're just going to talk. I have some toys, pictures, books if she isn't comfortable with just talking." Jordan gave Ziva a comforting smile. "We'll go as slow as she needs to. We usually ask that the parents aren't present, we find that most children are ashamed of what happened to them and they clam up around their parents."
Ziva stiffened visibly and frowned at the woman.
"I promise, we'll only do as much as she can handle."
Tony gave the doctor a smile and took Ziva by the hand. "Zee, why don't you go home and take a shower...I'll stay here with Jake and we'll wait."
Ziva gave him a sideways glance before nodding. "Okay, but I want to say goodbye to Jacob and Daniela."
Jordan nodded and followed Tony and Ziva into the room.
"Daniela, I am going home to shower." Ziva said leaning over and giving the girl a kiss on her forehead. "I will be back soon."
The girl nodded. "Okay."
"Is there anything you want me to bring back for you?"
She thought for a second before nodding. "Yes. Can you bring Gibbs, Jenny, McGee, Abby, Palmer and Ducky?"
Ziva smiled. "I will see sweetheart."
Tony scooped Jacob off the bed and propped him on his hip. "Dani, this is Dr. Parker, she wants to talk to you. Jake and I are going to go to the playset outside."
Daniela looked at the woman with a critical eye before she nodded slowly. "Okay Papa." She watched as Tony left the room, shutting the door behind him. Her eyes met the blue ones of the doctor and she swallowed hard, watching as the woman sat down across from her.
Here is the latest chapter. Yay! Finals are over! I should (hopefully) have more time to write.