Sorry that took SO long! I went to a friend's house, then the fan bam decided to go away, GAH it never ends!
"So you can sleep in the guest room, it's pretty plain and boring now, but we can decorate it and repaint it if you like soon," Ziva offered in the car ride to her and Tony's house. Hasmia was sitting in the passenger seat, arms crossed, intently looking out the window.
"Ok," She replied simply.
Ziva tried again to get a conversation going, "That Child Services lady was something else huh?"
"I don't like her," Hasmia stated, turning to finally face Ziva.
Ziva took the opportunity to catch her eye, "Why not?"
She shrugged, "She's too controlling and bossy, on the plane I asked for a juice, she gave me a water, said it would rot my teeth."
"That is ridiculous, I tell you what, we are having juice for tea tonight!" Ziva angrily stated, she herself hated to be controlled so could relate to the girl's feelings.
Hasmia smiled a little at that, "Sorry," She finally murmured out.
"What's there to be sorry for?"
She blushed slightly, "I am just a nuisance, you don't really want to take care of me, I am just the pet you are left with when someone dies."
"You are not a nuisance, I am really looking forward to getting to know you!" Ziva said sharply, "You are no pet, I didn't have to sign the papers, but I wanted to."
"Why?"
She sighed, "Because I owe Ari at least that, I feel bad I missed out on your childhood, I want to make up for it." Ziva decided to leave out the fact her other option was Eli.
"He never mentioned you," Hasmia said in a quiet voice.
Ziva's grip tightened around the steering wheel in frustration, "He didn't get along with our Abba, moved away the first opportunity he had, still worked for Mossad though, just didn't live in Tel Aviv."
The teenager shrugged, "What am I meant to call you?"
"How do you mean?"
"You're not my Ima, not my aunt really, so what do I call you?" Hasmia asked.
They pulled up outside their home, Ziva reached over and held the girl's hand, "Whatever you feel comfortable with; Ziva, Aunty I don't mind, I want you to feel at ease here, not awkward or anything."
Hasmia, mumbled, "Ok Ziva," And undid her seat belt, taking in her new home. There was the driveway to the left, which lead into the garage, but Ziva had parked on the road, probably so Tony could park in there. There was a small lawn, edged with a row of flowers, a path snaked it's way from the road, past the letterbox and to the door. There was a small purple suitcase sitting at the doorstep. Ziva unlocked the door, letting Hasmia walk in first, whilst she grabbed her bag. There was a small hallway that led into a large kitchen and living area. The cooking area was around the corner and to the left, lounge filled the rest of the space, a large couch and smaller arm chair, TV an sound system, along with a big book shelf, half filled with movies and cd's, the other half with novels, a large piano stood against the wall. The far wall was a large, glass sliding door that led out onto a patio with a barbecue and large, fenced in lawn.
"Your room in this way," Ziva led Hasmia down another hallway, pointing out the bathroom, shower, study, her and Tony's room and eventually getting to Hasmia's room. It was fairly large, grey walls and a pale lavender duvet and pillows on a single bed. A near empty book shelf and desk stood in one corner, wardrobe in the other. A large window overlooked the garden, letting in lots of natural light. "Like I said it's a bit boring but, we can do it up over the holidays."
"It's really nice," Hasmia complemented. "Bigger than my old place."
Ziva stiffed slightly in the doorway, she figured that since Ari had died, money wise things had been hard, "Well I'll leave you to do whatever you want, you can unpack, have a shower, watch TV, read, whatever you like." Hasmia nodded mutely and Ziva shut the door. She went straight to the computer, logging into the NCIS database, sometimes she would do work from home, and asked McGee to come and install the whole NCIS computer network onto their computer. She searched her half brother's name into the database, narrowing it down to look for those living in Israel, with one parent called Eli David. It came up with fifteen results, none of them were her brother. But she didn't give up, she need to find out more about where Hasmia had come from. She remembered that Eli had taken the name Benjamin Weinstein for a while, she searched that. There was an immediate result. Ari Haswari, married to Amira Haswari, son of Benjamin Weinstein and Hasmia Haswari. Ziva felt herself smile; Ari had named his daughter after his mother, she knew how much he had loved her before she had died. She briefly scanned his wife's profile, it said that after her husband died she was evicted, no known place of residence, which probably meant she had lived on the street, and she was unemployed, which meant she was a beggar. Ziva felt a pang of guilt, she had caused a family to be torn apart and live on the street. No wonder Hasmia had been antisocial, Ziva knew for a fact that street children did next to no socialising, so she most likely didn't really know how to.
But it was what was written under status that sent chills through Ziva. 'On April 4th 2008 Amira Haswari was killed when a group of eight men attacked and raped her repeatedly. She died at the scene, no one was arrested in relation to the event but a fifteen year old girl was picked up. Her name is Hasmia Haswari and was also a victim of rape, she was taken to the local hospital to be looked after.'
Ziva was stunned, she was now looking after a young girl who watched her own mother being beaten and gang raped, whilst herself suffering the same. She didn't know how to respond to the news, no wonder Hasmia had eyed Tony suspiciously when Ziva had kissed her. Ziva knew she would have to tell Tony, deciding to do it tonight, when Hasmia was in bed. Feeling more depressed than she had in a long time Ziva cleared her browser history and logged off, checking the time and finding it four o'clock she knew she had to start making dinner. She went down the hallway to ask if Hasmia wanted to help cook.
Knocking on the door gently, "Hasmia, honey want to help cook tea?" She slowly swung the door open, smiling when she found the girl sprawled out on the bed, still dressed in her clothes, a small amount of jeans and tee shirts were scattered on the floor, Ziva gently closed the door again, leaving her to sleep whilst she went and made dinner.
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS
"Lucy I'm home!" Tony called, like he did every evening when he got home. He found Ziva in the kitchen, just taking a fry pan, filled with noodles, vegetables and chicken, off the heat. She turned smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.
"How were the cold cases?" Ziva asked.
"Better as the day went on, but then again my aim did improve," Tony laughed, glancing around he asked, "Where's Hasmia?"
"In her room asleep," Ziva paused, "I didn't even ask, you are alright with this?"
He shrugged, "It's gonna be weird to start off but I'll be fine." Tony grabbed a piece of carrot from the top of the frypan, "What's she like? Seemed pretty quiet."
"She is very nice, polite but yes, quiet." Ziva hesitated, "I cannot tell you now but I need to show you something on the computer tonight ok?"
Tony looked confused but nodded his head, "Sure, is dinner ready? I'm starving!"
"Yes it is, you set the table, I'll wake her up." Ziva hung up her apron, "Oh and serve juice tonight," she added, walking off down the hall. Tony was left think about how strange the last 24 hours had been. As far as he was concerned he had become an adoptive father overnight. If he had known, the love making with Ziva the night before would probably have been longer. Ziva was halfway down the hall when she nearly bumped into Hasmia, who was coming out of the bathroom.
"Jeez, you scared me!" Ziva cried out, hand over heart, Hasmia smirked a little, as if she was impressed with herself. "Anyway dinner's ready."
"Ok," She replied, following Ziva back to the kitchen.
Tony looked up as she entered, hair a little messy from her nap, "Hey sleepy head." He said cheerfully, determined to win the child over, he had always wanted a daughter that he could play tricks on Ziva with.
"Hi," Hasmia murmured, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she sat at the table. She eyed the fry pan, overflowing with noodles and chicken and vegetables, she wouldn't tell anyone but the last time she had eaten any meat was well over a year ago, it just cost too much. "Smells good."
"Thank you, it's Tony's favourite," Ziva replied, serving Tony then herself, handing the tongs to Hasmia to let her serve herself, "Eat as much as you want, or else he will," She joked. Hasmia smiled and served herself a small amount of noodles, and an equally small amount of salad. Ziva sat down, noticing how little Hasmia had poured herself she said, "You can have more if you like."
She shrugged a reply, "I don't eat much." She added softly.
'I bet you don't' Ziva nearly said, just managing to stop herself. Instead she asked, "So Hasmia, what do you like to do?"
The girl again shrugged, "I don't know."
Ziva glanced at Tony, he leant forward a little, "Back home, where did you like to go? Maybe we can plan a day trip."
Hasmia paused, as if asking herself if she should share the information, "Back home I used to go to the Holyland Tower, it's the tallest building in Jerusalem. I would go up to the roof, watch the sunset and then watch the stars and the city lights."
Both Tony and Ziva were stunned, it was easily the longest sentence Hasmia had said the whole time she had been around them. Ziva glanced again at Tony, "Well, maybe sometime you would like to go out to the city. There is a huge building you can climb, with lots of observation areas, we could go sightseeing."
Hasmia paused, then nodded as she had a small mouthful of her dinner. Tony took it upon himself to ensure that their first dinner together as a family wasn't a awkward one so he started retelling what happened at work that day after Ziva and Hasmia left.
"So after you two left, Gibbs went straight to the Director's office," He stopped, and looked at Hasmia, "Scary redhead, pixie haircut, fiery eyes, sexual tension between Gibbs unrivalled by none."
She grinned slightly, "Sounds like you have been watching closely." Ziva nearly choked on her dinner with laughter, Tony turned a bright crimson.
He sighed, a massive smile on his face, "Anyway; you could almost hear the yelling, and when Gibbs came out he had a coffee stain on his shirt. I didn't say anything but we all know the Director threw her drink at him."
"He could have spilt it Tony," Ziva reasoned.
He scoffed, "Gibbs never spills his coffee Zee-Vah! C'mon you know that!"
They finished their dinner soon after, Tony went to have a shower, leaving Ziva and Hasmia to do the dishes. Ziva decided to wash, letting Hasmia dry and put away, letting her get to know the layout of the kitchen better.
"Are you very tired?" Ziva asked after a good five minutes of silence.
She shrugged, "Not really, jet lagged I guess."
Ziva nodded, her years of traveling had at times left her exhausted, "Want to watch TV or read a book?"
"Can't," Hasmia replied simply, cheeks reddening slightly.
She handed her a plate, "Goes in the top left cupboard," Ziva instructed quickly, "What do you mean?"
"I can only speak English, I cannot read it." Hasmia muttered, obviously embarrassed. "But I can read and write Hebrew and Arabic!"
Ziva wasn't surprised, given what she knew about the teenager, she was impressed she could read at all. Ziva knew that Ari would have had a handsome pay check from Mossad, but once he had died all the money would have stopped. She went over to the bookshelf, fingers trailing the spines of the various books. Ziva selected a few, bringing them back to the kitchen where Hasmia waited expectantly.
"These are all books I brought over here with me from Tel Aviv; they are all just translations of European stories but I liked them when I was younger, maybe you will," She handed the books tenderly to Hasmia, "They are your's now."
A strange expression filled the girl's face, Ziva guessed she hadn't been given anything in years, "Thank you," She murmured, eyes fixated on the covers. Eventually she glanced at Ziva, who bore a motherly smile, she paused.
"You can go read them in your room if you like," Ziva suggested, picking up on another time when Hasmia wanted to say something, but didn't. She nodded and walked back down the hall, fingers tracing the titles. Ziva also noticed how quietly she walked, Eli would've exploited her quietness to no end. Ziva smirked, it was almost as if she had beaten her Father at his own game.
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS
It was nearly three in the morning when Tony jerked awake, a hushed but startled cry echoed through the otherwise quiet house. He sat up as another, smaller, cry could be heard. Tony glanced at a still sleeping, still snoring Ziva. He decided to just let her slumber continue and not wake her to ask what it was. He knew what made the noise, Ziva had shown him the file earlier that night, what he'd read had sickened him. Tony quietly stalked his way down the hall, turning on a lamp that sat on a small table which illuminated the hallway and Hasmia's bedroom door.
He knocked gently, "Hey you ok in there?" Hoping he would hear her gentle voice reply that she was fine, just got a fright or something similar; he got silence in return. Tony took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he could be confronted with. The teenage girl was writhing, trapped in her sheets, face ashen, beads of sweat clearly shining in the dim light. Both her teeth and fists were gritted shut, but small moans were escaping her puckered lips. Tony called her name again, louder, but the volume he used must still have been quieter than those in her head. He hurried over to her bed, then hesitated, unsure how to proceed. Eventually he decided to do what his Mum used to do whenever he had nightmares, which considering how many horror films he snuck out to watch, occurred often.
Tony gently sat next to her, stroking her damp face gently he began to sing, "Hush little baby don't say a word," He paused, "Tony's gonna buy you a mockingbird." The effect was almost instantaneous, Hasmia's breathing slowed, hands relaxing from their balled up forms, "And if that mockingbird don't sing, Tony's gonna buy you a diamond ring. And if that diamond turns brass, Tony's gonna buy you a looking glass." By now she had calmed entirely, "And if that looking glass gets broke, Tony's gonna buy you a billy goat. And if that billy goat won't pull, Tony's gonna buy you a cart and bull." Little did Tony know Ziva had heard him get up and had followed him down the hallway and was now leaning against the open doorway, watching as her boyfriend sung her niece to sleep again.
"And if that cart and bull turn over, Tony's gonna buy you a dog named Rover," When he started this verse however, a soft humming could be just heard beneath his singing. It was Hasmia, she was gently singing along to the song. Tony smiled, "And if that dog named Rover won't bark, Tony's gonna buy you a horse and cart. Hush little baby don't say a word, Tony's gonna buy you a mockingbird." When he finished the lullaby he saw her eyes softy slicker open. She smiled faintly at him.
"I know that song." Hasmia murmured.
"I can tell, they have it in Israel?" Tony asked.
She shrugged, "I guess, I didn't know the words, just the tune." The girl paused, "Sorry for waking you."
"Waking me?! Nah I was already awake," Tony easily lied.
Without glancing at the time Hasmia stated, "It is three in the morning."
He began a reply, but gave up on it, "You got me, but it's OK, I'd do anything for ya."
She sat up, rubbing her eyes, she may have just woken, but Tony could tell she was alert, wide awake, "Why?"
He paused, it was a good question, but he himself didn't know the answer. He spoke slowly, "Because. Because we're a family now. Not your normal family, or a conventional family, but a family nonetheless." Tony stood, more than ready to go back to sleep, "Night Mia," He hesitated, looking back at her he leaned in, took her hand gently and kissed the back of it, he smiled then left. He closed the door quietly, grinning to himself, he couldn't wait to tell Ziva what a great 'father' he was to Hasmia. He spun around and nearly crashed straight into said girlfriend.
"Oh," Tony stated, "Hi."
"That was cute," Ziva smiled at him.
He shrugged, "It's the lullaby that Mum used to sing to me, guess I can still remember it."
"Not just that, the whole," She pointed to the door to exaggerate, "That, it was sweet."
"Least I could do."
"What did you call her anyway?" Ziva asked as they walked quietly back to their bedroom.
"When?" Tony replied.
Ziva sighed, "Did you call her Mia?"
"Yeah probably, Hasmia's too long."
"But you lengthen my name." Ziva countered.
Tony glanced at her once they were in bed, "How do you mean?"
Ziva smiled, using a gruff, manly voice she grumbled, "Zee-Vah," Like he so often does.
"Oh, so you're asking why I shortened her name but lengthen your's?" Ziva nodded, he smiled, rolling over to lie nearly onto of her, his lips dangling precariously close to her's, "Because Ziva is a name too beautiful to shorten, I want to enjoy it for longer." Their lips met.
Ok, I actually, for once, like this chapter, with it's small reveal into Hasmia's past, Tony being cute and some 'fun' between Ziva and Tony! Anyways say why you did/didn't like it in a review! Please? Don't make me beg ;)