The Soldier

dead legends and living soldiers

Suddenly feeling lost, she looked around. There was no bomb, no more police cars and the only one really striking out in that otherwise almost dull crowd of running people who started to leave the place, was the man with that weapon.

He seemed hostile, his whole figure and behaviour basically screamed 'dangerous'.

Tessa should have probably left the place too, but curiosity has always been the thing she rather went by. She wanted to know what this weapon was, who this man was and what he was doing here.

Besides, she felt safe, trusting her abilities to defend herself. She was good with her knife, she could get out of a dangerous situation anytime. After getting to know who that man was and what he was doing here.

„Being brave, curious and dumb go hand in hand, Tessa. You are lucky to have me.", Ziva used to say, dragging her over the battlefield back to safety.

Tessa wanted to free a couple of hostages on her own, the others did not even know where she was. Today she knew how dumb that was, but back then she wanted to be a hero.

Tessa got the hint from a little boy who approached her when she was getting some supplies for her group. His sister was one of the people they held hostage for apparently no reason, or that was what he told her.

„You are trusting children too easily, Tessa. This was a trap, obviously.", Ziva lectured her. „Adam did not know about it, why do you think that's so? Tessa, you can't just storm off, following some random stray blindly and without back-up. Not everyone is happy to have us here. Sometimes they are part of terror organizations, sometimes the bad guys promise them to get their families back in exchange for a couple of soldiers. That is why you have to be careful, never walk alone and for god's sake, don't just leave me alone, Tessa. You have to tell me that kind of stuff, we will solve things like that together, okay? I have you, and you have me, and I want it to stay like that. I have to look out for you, and you have to look out for me. We have to trust each other blindly, that will be the only way we survive this fucked up war, do you understand? Can I count on you?"

She was angry at her, and Tessa only nodded, swearing she would not do it again, she would not leave her alone again. They promised to stay together that night, to look out for each other.

Once they were in safety, they kept talking for the entire night. They made plans for what they would do after they would come back home. They wanted to visit Ziva's parents and after that, Ziva would move to New York, in Tessa's apartment until they found something else.

They would see each other every day, they would stay together, because the war may brought them together, but peace would keep them that way.

Ziva's voice sounded so convincing, so stubborn. So sure about getting home safely, if they only counted on each other. Of course she believed her, of course Ziva could count on her, of course she would have done anything to save her.

At least that was what she thought back then.

But then she remembered Ziva's scream, how she could do nothing except watching how Ziva was buried under grey dust.

She wanted to run into the building, drag Ziva out there the way she did so many times before.

Adam, her commander, held her back and she tried anything to free herself, run into that building. If Ziva was dust, she wanted to become dust too.

At this moment she wanted to be with Ziva in there, she wanted to make everything stop, she wanted to believe in heaven, to spend an eternity on Ziva's side, with her angel.

But Adam held her back and today she was glad that he did so. She was not ready to die back then, and she would not come home from battle just to get herself killed by some freak with an overpowered weapon now. Another cold shiver ran down her spine when she looked at the scenery in front of her.