How?

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Seven years ago

Ziva had settled onto the green plaid couch in her family's house getting ready to watch the movie The Sandlot. She never used to be interested in movies before, in fact a few years ago she didn't even own a television. She just thought watching television was a complete waste of time and that people could be using the time doing something much more productive. But now watching movies brought her a sense of comfort. They reminded her of the past and of people she loved. Specifically, one person she loved. A special man who was back in Washington, her old home for eight years. Ziva had found that her favorites were comedies they always helped her escape from reality for a while. She liked other types of movies too but comedies were definitely her favorite. There was one specific genre of movies that she tried to stay away from though. Romantic movies. Any kind of romantic movies, romantic comedies, deep dramatic romances, any kind of movie where there were people in love. People falling in love, people chasing after the people they loved, people getting married. She just couldn't watch them. It reminded her too much of the love she had lost two years ago on that airplane tarmac. So there she sat most nights watching one movie after another. Sometimes she watched her favorites over and over again but usually she would watch new ones. She knew which ones were the best and which ones weren't she had become kind of an expert after eight years of working with another movie expert for eight years.

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As Ziva was watching the kids make their second attempt to get their baseball back she heard her phone ring. She picked up her phone and looked at the number on the screen. Her eyes widened as she registered whose number it was. It was her old colleague from NCIS Timothy McGee. Ziva looked at it for a few seconds while she tried to decide whether or not to answer it. She had talked to McGee a few months ago and it had brought up old wounds that she had managed to close a long time ago. He had called her to talk about a certain someone also from her past at NCIS who she didn't like to talk about or even think about anymore. Just as she had decided to not answer it she realized that her phone was at the last ring. On an impulse she picked up the phone her finger sliding lightning fast across the answer button surprising herself that she had actually decided to pick it up. "McGee?" Ziva asked hesitantly squinting her eyes and pressing her lips together anxious about what McGee was calling to say. "He broke up with her Ziva." Ziva sucked in a deep breath. "Who broke up with who?" Ziva asked McGee already knowing the answer. "You know who Ziva."