The Life Of The Daughter Of NCIS

Chapter 30: Tali & Kalev

One week later

Gibbs

Coffee in hand, I rounded the corner and was stunned briefly, DiNozzo was sitting at his desk, typing laboriously, looking up at the Ziva's desk every couple of letters.

He shouldn't even think about being here, her funeral was tomorrow, and he needed time, despite the fact that he was so adamant that he was fine; Tony couldn't plow through this one with his big-headed stubbornness.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded as I walked into the pen, he sprung up like a tightly coiled spring "what am I doing here? What are you doing? What are we doing? Is anybody here?" He questioned emotionally. He must of heard about the surviving members of the cartel.

"Ah, DiNozzo," I sighed, I could tell he wasn't in the right headspace to even consider coming in.

"What do we know? What are the facts? Because we don't assume, we verify. Do we know there were defiantly more people? Do we know that the Sisters and Co. are even dead? Because if there are we're going to get them."

I stood up from the computer "yes, they are dead, and we will get them." I said before adding "us, not you."

He looked at me, astonished, "oh yes me." I watched as he paced around "we've lost agents before, and when we do, it's all hands on deck," he bellowed, slamming his palms against the desk repeatedly to reinforce his point.

"She's more than an agent to you." I point out calmly.

"She was a daughter to you. She was a sister to McGee and Abby and Azalea. She was no more to me than anybody."

I shook my head. Ziva was a daughter to me, I was the one she would ring when she would feel down inIsrael, but she was more to DiNozzo, she was his love.

I was worried about this, that one thing was going to tip him over the edge and shatter his fragile coping scheme to pieces.

Senior walked up to Tony, "well thats not true." He contradicted.

"Yes it is!" His son snapped, "and why are you following me?"

I watched on as the DiNozzos spoke, waiting to intervene when necessary, it was fairly common in the first meetings with the older DiNozzo.

"Come back home, Junior." The older man pled.

"No." He replied, almost like an angry teen, his anger began to crumble and he seemed to shrink "I can't."

I knew what he was going through, and tough love was going to be the only thing Tony would respond to.

"You need time," his dad started to explain.

"I need to know how people managed to escape."

"You need to breathe."

Tony shook his head "I'll breathe when they are all dead."

He was propelled solely on vengeance and grief, and that was a dangerous combination, I should know.

"But not like this, just for tonight, it's Zivas funeral tomorrow." His father told him "get your bearings, Son."

DiNozzo looked torn.

"Listen to him, Tony, you'll be the first to know if anything comes up." I backed Senior up "try it."

Tony looked at me, tears clinging to his eyes.

"Go. Or go for good." I enforced.

"What?"

I nodded "I'm not asking, we've got this."

I watched quietly as a broken DiNozzo complied.

My house was dark when I arrived home, there was a guard posted on my porch, and another was by the back door. As well as Abby and McGee inside.