Ziva David - NCIS

Chapter 27

I wake up to the sunlight. The cuts on my arms are fresh from last night and there are several deep gashes on my stomach. My muscles all over my body are screaming at me in pain. I'm wearing my usual outfit of a cream white lacy top, black leggings and combat boots and the black Mossad hoodie. I pull my legs over to the side of my bed in the dormitory which I share with my team and the NCIS team. Ever seen a prison dorm? With the bed lined up by the wall, that's exactly what it looks like but we all have a single bed. I asked to move out of my luxury apartment on my own terms. It never was important to me anyway.

"Ow ow ow ow," I mutter as I stand up stiffly.

"U alright?" Rica murmurs through her pillow, half asleep.

"Yep," I squeak and stretch my muscles.

"You sure about that?" Someone asks from the other side of the room.

"Gibbs, yes I'm fine." I dismiss his concern. I walk stiffly across the room, nearly losing my balance a few times and turn on the silent coffee maker.

"Do you wanna coffee?" I turn to look at him.

"No thanks," he shakes his head. I turn back to my coffee and pour myself a cup into a thermal flask. I walk back to my bed and open the bedside cabinet. I pull out my tablets and supplements before quickly swallowing them.

"Why do you take those?" Gibbs asks.

"They are the only thing that keeps me alive." I answer briefly.

"We missed you Zi," he says quietly.

"Missed you too, you have always been like a father to me." I say.

"And you have always been like a daughter to me." he smiles. I check to see if anyone else is awake before standing up and walking over to where Gibbs is sitting on top of his bed. I sit next to him.

"Missed you," I say.

"Oh Zi," he says and wraps his arms around me.

"Can you not..." I trail off as I loosen his arms around mine.

"Alright," he grimaces and rests his hands on my waist, ironically where another knife has been scraped across my stomach.

"Gibbs," I squeak. He sighs,

"What has he done to you?" He murmurs. He places his hands around my back, and I immediately flinch. I rest my arms around his waist and lean my head on his shoulder.

"Thank you," I whisper.

"For what?" He says.

"For saving me," I murmur. It was one of those moments that you wish could last forever, standings still forever. A make believe world.

"Zivaaaaaaaa," Rica shrieks causing me and Gibbs to jump apart and everyone to sit up in their beds. I pull out my gun from my waist and pull it off the safety, causing everyone to look at me. I scan the room quickly to find no threats and find Rica sitting up with her pillow on her face. I sigh loudly and tuck my gun away.

"What?" I walk over to her.

"Jordan superglued a freaking pillow to my freaking face!" She yells. Everyone looks to Jordan who has a guilty face.

"Jordan!" I yell.

"No, I'm not here. No, no. Totally not here." he pulls his duvet over his head.

I stalk over to where he is and yank the sheets off him. I sit ontop of him and grab a pillow.

"This is what you get," I whack him in the face repeatedly with the pillow.

"Pillow fight!" Coco screams and bundles me onto the floor. I grab a pillow and hit her back. I feel someone grab me by the waist and pull me off Coco. Jordan throws me on my bed and grabs a pillow and starts whacking the breath out of me.

"Get off," I scream with laughter and I stand on top of the bed. I whack the pillow over his head. He throws me over his shoulder and lays me on the floor.

"Bundle!" He yells.

"Nooooooo." I shriek as my whole team jump on my stomach. They then start attacking me with pillows.

"Okay stopppp." I laugh uncontrollably. They all stop and stand still, clutching their sides. I freeze and suddenly grab all their pillows and jump on top of the bed. Chum jumps on the bed and I whack her in the stomach and jump on Jordan, pushing him into the next bed. He swears at me in English before jumping up onto the bed and smacking me full in the stomach. I then shove him back on the floor and chuck my pillow at him. We all flop down onto the ground.

"Well, that was fun." I say as I try to catch my breath.

"I managed to get the pillow off my face!" Rica says suddenly. I sit up and turn to face her. My team goes quiet and then we suddenly burst into laughter.

"That.... Was.....so .... random." I clutch my stomach as I kneel on the bed.

"Thank you, boss. Oh god, when you leave who is gonna replace you. Oh god, what happens if they aren't nice. Oh god oh god." Rica starts hyperventilating. I chuck a pillow at her.

"Breathe stupid, you'll live." I roll my eyes.

"How are you going to say goodbye to everyone?" She asks as she lays across my lap like a child.

"I don't know. I'll just leave, I guess." I play with her hair.

"But you can't leave, Mossad has been your home. You actually grew up here. You have been here since you could walk. This whole team around you brought you up when your father didn't. This is not just your work it's your home, you belong here." She says into the quietness of the room.

"I have another place to call home," I say in Hebrew, curling her hair around my fingers.

"Yes, boss." She sighs.

"Any tips on life?" Coco comes to sit on next to me.

"Um.... rule one, rule two and rule 3. Live for today not tomorrow and don't get yourself killed, good Mossad agents are hard to find." I bring a bit of sass into my answer.

"Anything else?" Chummy sprawls out next to me.

"Don't screw it up." I smile at her.