NCIS High School Teenage Years

Chapter 14: Fathers

A week had gone by since Ziva's birthday. Tony still hadn't remembered Ziva's birthday, but she begged everyone not to tell him.
Tony and Jeanne grew even closer together. They were constantly together, and the only time Ziva saw Tony was at school. Tony didn't text, or call, or hang out with Ziva anymore. They used to talk to each other over the phone every night, and chat. Not anymore.
Ziva never felt more neglected in her life. She cursed herself for being so stupid. She let him into her heart, and it now caused nothing but pain.

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"Ziva". Gibbs spoke to her with his back turned as she descended the steps to his basement.

"How did you know it was me?" Ziva asked, taking a seat.

"Just a feeling". Gibbs replied, as he sanded his boat. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I just had a question". Ziva said, fidgeting in her seat. Gibbs turned around to look at her.

"What does a father do?" Ziva blurted out. "I mean, what is the role of a father?"

Gibbs turned back to sand his boat. "Well, they do a lot of things". He said. "They make sure you are safe, they love you, they care for you, I could go on, but that would take all day".

"Do you ever spend time with your children?" Ziva asked. "Or is your relationship with your children purely authoritative?"

Gibbs stopped working on his boat, and walked over to Ziva. He pulled out a chair in front of her, and sat down. He looked into her eyes with his piercing stare. To his surprise, he found that her eyes were glassy.

"I just want to know, Gibbs". Ziva croaked out. "I just want to know what a father does".

Gibbs reached over and rubbed her arm. "I know your father is not a good man, Ziver".

Ziva looked down at her shoes. "But you don't know how bad, Gibbs".

"Why don't you tell me?" Gibbs offered gently.

Ziva looked up at him. "We would be here forever if I told you all the horrible things he's done".

"I've got time. You don't have to tell me all of it if you don't want too. But just know that I am here for you if you need me".

Ziva took a deep breath. "My father once told me, 'We don't need pleasures in life, we need necessities'. And that applied to everything. I wasn't allowed to eat whatever I wanted, spend time with friends, or just act silly, like a child. He would never take me to places, or play games with me, even if I begged. One time, when I was about ten years old, I wanted ice cream. It was a very hot day in Israel, and I saw parents all around me buying their children ice cream. I asked my father, and he refused to buy me any. He told me that since I didn't need ice cream, there was no reason why I should have some. I begged, and begged, but he refused. I would want to play a board game with him, and he would just make excuses so he wouldn't play with me. I ended up playing it by myself".

Gibbs rubbed Ziva's arm again, encouraging her to continue.

"The worst was when he gets intoxicated, and he gets drunk every single night. There isn't a day that goes by, that he doesn't get drunk. He gets very scary when he's drunk, Gibbs". Ziva said, on the verge of tears. "He would stagger into my room, slurring his words, and if I didn't behave exactly the way he wanted me too, he would hit me. Eventually, I got smarter about it, and I would count the number of times he went downstairs to get a drink. Around the fifth time he went downstairs, I would grab Tali, and we would hide in our bathroom, with the door locked". Tears streamed down her face, as she silently cried.

Gibbs embraced her, and kissed her forehead.

"He told me that his only job is to keep me safe and healthy. That is it. It does not matter to him if I'm happy, or feel loved because to him, those are wants, and not needs. I wish you were my father, Gibbs". Ziva admitted after she calmed down. "I really wish you were".

Still holding Ziva, Gibbs rocked her. "You will always be like a daughter to me, Ziver". Gibbs whispered in her ear.

The two of them sat there, embracing each other, but pulled apart when they heard shouting coming from outside.

Gibbs leapt to his seat, and ran to the source of all the commotion; Ziva hot on his trail.

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Gibbs ran into the front yard to find Kate and Ari arguing. With a huff, Ari stormed off, to the direction of his house. Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, and McGee all went over to Kate, to see if she was okay. Kate explained that Ari couldn't take 'no' as an answer, and still wanted her back.

Ziva snorted. "Please excuse me, while I have a word with my brother". She said as she turned around and ran into her house.

"You okay, Kate?" Tony asked again.

Kate laughed. "Yes, Tony. I'm fine. If you think that-". Before she could finish, a gunshot rang out, and Kate's head jerked backwards.

Flecks of blood splattered on Tony's, McGee's, and Gibbs' faces.

They all saw Kate fall to the ground, as in slow motion. When Kate's lifeless body hit the grass, realization struck when they saw the bullet sized hole in Kate's forehead.

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Jenny and Abby ran outside at the sound of the gunshot. They spotted Kate's body on the ground, and screamed. They rushed over, and kneeled beside her.

Abby sobbed as she held Kate's lifeless hand. Jenny cried hard on Gibbs' shoulder. Tony and McGee were too shocked to cry. When realization set in, tears streamed down their faces.

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Ziva ran out of the house, and surveyed the scene in front of her. She slowly made her way over to Kate, and stood over her; with no expression on her face. Swallowing, she cleared her throat of the lump, and started to quietly sing a Jewish mourning song.

Abby glared up at Ziva, and walked over to her.

"What the hell are you doing?" Abby asked, raising her voice.

"It's a Jewish mourning song, for Kate". Ziva answered with no emotion in her voice.

"Well, she's not Jewish, so get the hell away from her!" Abby yelled. "You and your family are nothing but heartless, soulless killers. Get the hell away from us!"

Ziva was startled, and a bit hurt. However, she slipped on her Mossad façade, and looked into Abby's hateful eyes.

"ABBY!!" Gibbs yelled at her.

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At that moment, Tali came running out of her house. She gasped when she saw Kate, and turned to Ziva with tears in her eyes.

"Zivaleh, what happened?" She asked in  Hebrew.

Before Ziva could respond, Abby lunged at Tali, and sucker punched her right in the face. Tali staggered backwards, and Abby screamed at her.

"We speak English in America!" Abby yelled at Tali. "If you want to speak in your language, go back to your terrorist country!"

At this, Gibbs grabbed Abby, and forced her inside. Yelling at her her as he slammed the door on her face.

"Sorry about Abby". Gibbs apologized. "She didn't mean anything she said. She's just in shock, and she doesn't know how to handle it".

Tali sniffed. "She's right". She mumbled. "Ziva and I have to talk to our father about this". With one last tearful look at Kate, Tali grabbed Ziva's hand, and walked back to their house.