America. She was in America. After a 12 hour flight. She was finally here. 18-year-old Ziva David was looking up at the beautiful blue sky filled with clouds. Hearing the birds chirping. It was so different compared to Israel. She had barely left the airport, yet she was rooted to the spot, looking at the beauty of this country. Her mother came up behind her and put her hand on Ziva's shoulder. Ziva turned to face her with a slight smile on her face.
"Are you ready, motek?" Her mother spoke kindly. You could still see the dark bags under her eyes and the red that was engulfing her eyes. The same could probably be said for her.
Her younger sister, Tali, was killed almost a week and a half ago in a Hamas suicide bombing. Her mother had sprung the idea of moving to Israel 2 days after Tali's funeral, where she was buried next to her father and her brother. It was difficult to leave her home, her other family, but she knew that this was going to be good for her and her mother. To get away from the violence of her home, to get away from the death.
Their things had been shipped earlier in the week and were waiting for them at their new home. She was looking forward to how school would be. Things here would be different than what she was used to, but she was willing to learn the ropes. This was her new home, this is where she now resided. She was going to make the most of it.
*************************************************************************************
Tony DiNozzo was always the ladies' man. All the girls wanted him, and all the guys wanted to be him. Currently, he had been dating Jeanne Benoit, and he was regretting every second of it. When they first started dating 2 months ago, she seemed so nice, so caring, so gently. But that all changed a week ago. She always wanted to be right next to him all the time, never wanted to leave him alone. Whenever he was at home, she would knock on his door and have a tantrum if she wasn't let in. She always treated others like they were beneath her. Treated them with the utmost disrespect. He just got to the point where he never wanted to be around her. Whenever they were at school, she would always try to show him off like he was some object, some prize. But he was lonely, he didn't want to be one of those loners for the rest of his life
For some reason, he had this gut feeling that this week was going to be different. He had learned from his father, to always trust his gut. His father was a former marine and a current NCIS agent, if he knew what to do to catch murderers, then Tony could use it to guide him through his life.
His father was someone that he had always looked up to. That couldn't count out his mother too. She was a very intimidating woman, but also one of the most loving and caring people that you'll ever meet. She was also the director of NCIS, so people don't normally cross her or her kids, afraid of what she could do.
He had many "friends" in school, but they all expected him to be the jerk like they all were. They were the kinds of people to throw people into dumpsters and egg cars. He just wasn't for all that.
He did have his brother, Tim, and his best friend, Abby. Abby had become like a sister to him throughout all the years they had known each other. He just wanted to get out of high school and do something good with his life.
He was walking through the park when he noticed 2 women moving boxes from outside to inside. The older of the two looked like she was struggling, so he made his way over, intending to help if needed. He walked over and made his way over to the woman. The woman noticed and looked up at him and called out in another language, more than likely to the other woman.
"I don't mean to intrude, but I was wondering if you guys needed help with anything?" The older woman smiled and nodded.
"Yes. We have many boxes that need to be moved from the truck to the house. Some of them are very heavy. If you do not mind..."
"I don't mind. Just tell me where you want them to go." The woman nodded and handed him the box she was currently holding.
"That one goes into the kitchen." Tony nodded and made his way up the stairs and stopped in his tracks when he noticed the younger of the two women. She was beautiful. More than beautiful, gorgeous. She had the prettiest brown eyes and wavy brown hair. She looked at him warily, not sure what his intentions were.
"She said this goes in the kitchen?" He finally spoke, not wanting to seem like a loser just standing there, practically drooling over this girl. The girl nodded and pointed to the left. He nodded and walked through the door, the girl behind him with another box.
"So where are you guys from? You don't sound like you're from around here." The girl nodded.
"We are from Israel. Just got here this morning."
"Oh. That's cool. I've never met anybody from anyone that far away. Most of the people here have been here since like the dawn of time." He chuckled. When he was nervous he would joke, or he would ramble about movie references.
"I'm Tony by the way." He reached his hand out. The girl accepted it cautiously.
"Ziva." An exotic name for an exotic woman.
For some reason, he felt this connection with her, like he could share anything with her. He wanted to get to know her. He could just look at her, his gaze couldn't leave her eyes. Something about them was just pulling him in. She bit her bottom lip, and turned her gaze away from him and went out again to help the older woman with the rest of the boxes. He followed her. He felt like he could follow her anywhere.
The older woman looked at them as they walked out of the house.
"(Mama, this is Tony.)" She spoke in what he could now guess as Hebrew. The older woman looked at him. She raked her eyes over him, it seemed like she was searching his soul.
"(He is very handsome)" Ziva looked up at him and chuckled.
"(Maybe just a little, Mama)" They both started laughing, causing Tony to just stand there awkwardly. The older woman turned to him and raised her hand to him, just like he had done with Ziva. He shook it, firmly. The older woman smiled at that.
"Hello, Tony. It is very nice to meet you. You can call me Rivka." Tony smiled. Ziva could see the resemblance in them, especially in the eyes. He didn't know what it was about their eyes, but it was almost magnetic.
Rivka then grabbed a lighter looking box and made her way inside. Tony turned back to Ziva.
"So, what school are you going to?"
"Michael Franks Washington." Tony smiled.
"Oh sweet, I go there too. It's a pretty big school if you ever want me to show you around." Ziva nodded. This man was quite the charmer.
"Sure."
For the next 45 minutes, he helped them move boxes from the moving truck into their new home. About 7:45 that night, they finished putting boxes in various rooms around the house. He got a text from Tim.
Tim: Dad wants you home for dinner. He's not in a good mood.
Tony: I should be home soon. Work?
Tim: More than likely. Abby is joining us.
Tony: I'm helping somebody move down the street. Just got finished. I'll be home in like 5 minutes.
Tim: Helping somebody move? Really? Who?
Tony: A mother and daughter from Israel. Just got here this morning. Looked like they were having trouble so I decided to help out. The daughter is actually going to go to school with us.
Tim: Oh, cool. Mom is calling for me to help set the table. You might want to get over here.
Tony: Be there soon.
Tony put his phone back into his pocket. He looked up to Ziva, who was unpacking some things in the living room. She sensed him looking at her and looked up to meet his eyes. He had beautiful green eyes.
"That was my brother. I need to get home for dinner." Ziva nodded and stood. She outstretched her hand and he shook it.
"Thank you for your help. Things went a lot faster."
"Not a problem. I guess I'll see you at school on Monday?" Ziva nodded.
"I will be there." She smiled, which in turn caused him to smile. She had this beautiful Mona Lisa smile that sent butterflies to his stomach. Who was this woman? She sent shivers down his spine. Rivka entered the room and saw them looking at each other in such a way that she smiled. Eli used to look at her like that, and she him. Now he was gone, along with her son and daughter. Ziva was all she had now, and she would make sure that nothing would happen to her, she would protect her with her life. She could sense that this young man would be good for her.
"I will see you guys later. If you need any more help, just ask." They both nodded and Tony waved his hand and walked out the front door. Ziva moved over to the window and watched him walk away. Almost a minute later she saw him in the driver's seat of a 1969 Mustang.
As he drove he couldn't get her beautiful face out of his head. His gut feeling from earlier was becoming stronger. He had a feeling his life was about change and for the better.