I do not own NCIS or any part thereof.

FORGIVENESS

-7-

Betty watched as Tony knelt by Ziva and touched her face. He looked almost as bad as Ziva did with his scruff and his sling and an overall sense of neglect but there was no denying the intensity of those leaf green eyes as he made Ziva lift her head and look at him. No denying the painful honesty of the words "let me help make 'us' better."

Ziva put her hand over Tony's where it held her chin and pushed it away.

"How can you say 'us,' Tony? I am not to be trusted now, yes? With no trust there is no 'us,' no team. I am the pariah. I broke the trust. It will all be better if I am gone."

So this was what it all came down to, Betty thought? Ziva did something wrong and no one forgives her or at least she thinks no one forgives her? What the hell kind of people are these yahoos? Sure looked to her like Ziva had suffered enough for whatever she'd done. Reaching out she started pulling Ziva back to her side but Tony grabbed Ziva by the arm and shook her. A sharp gasp of pain escaped from Ziva before she clamped her mouth closed.

"Watch it, you assh…" Betty yelled and raised her cane to strike him.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs shouted and reached to stop Tony from manhandling the injured woman.

But Tony didn't let her go and Betty saw him shoot a glare at Gibbs that could've stopped a Mack truck. Then he turned back to Ziva.

"I'm sorry, Ziva, but you have to listen to me. If never again in your life NOW you have to listen to me. Yes, you made a mistake. I made a mistake. People lost their lives because of our mistakes. God knows even Gibbs made a mistake leaving you standing there on that airfield. We all made mistakes."

Ziva was whimpering and Betty wanted to whack Tony with her cane up side his head but held back, stopped by something in his eyes or his voice. Glancing at Gibbs, Betty thought he must feel the same way she did – wanting to stop Tony but wanting him to finish what he was saying.

He released his grip and began to gently rub her arm in slow up and down movements.

"We all need forgiveness for our mistakes. It may take some time but we can get past this, all of us. We can forgive but not forget because I don't know about you but I sure as hell don't want to make these same mistakes ever again. It hurts too much."

He gave a sad smile and Betty saw what a handsome man he really was. Here was another good looking guy. Where did she get them? Doesn't matter though how good looking he is, she thought. He grabs Ziva one more time and I'm going to bash the crap out of him.

Still rubbing Ziva's arm Tony leaned closer until their faces were just inches apart.

"Four years, Ziva. Four years you've been my partner. You knocked me down when I needed it. You saw right through my bullshit. You were always there to pick me up or kick my ass, whichever needed doing. When we're apart…"

He hesitated, clearly looking for the right words.

"When we're apart I am less than I want to be."

He leaned forward and barely touched his forehead to hers. She made to pull back but he moved his hand up to her neck and she stopped.

"I need what it is we had, Ziva; our partnership, our friendship, our whatever the hell it is that makes us Tony and Ziva. I need it. When I was agent afloat I found out just how much I needed it and now, when I've almost lost it completely…when I almost lost you…I know I can't do what I have to do without it. Without you, Ziva. I need you."

He was whispering by the time he stopped talking.

Betty saw Ziva lean into Tony now their foreheads fully touching and then Ziva brought her hand up to Tony's face and wiped away a tear from his cheek. Betty didn't know when he'd started crying but his face was wet. She reached up and touched her own face. Her cheeks were wet as well and she didn't know when she'd started crying either. Damn. What a silly old woman she really was.

Lifting the hem of her blouse she wiped her eyes and looked up to see Gibbs watching her. She smiled at him. He looked a little wet-eyed too. Maybe he wasn't so mean after all. The man with the grey hair looked down at the pair on the floor again and then stepped around the podium and came to stand by Betty.

"Miz Carelli, could I assist you in anyway or escort you somewhere?"

Betty smiled a bigger smile. Hell yes you can you fine looking, blue-eyed man.

"If you'd give me a hand up, you could 'escort' me back to my husband Frankie's room."

He grabbed her arm with one hand and put the other around her back and literally pulled her up. He was stronger than he looked and it was so much easier to do with his help rather than with her pushing and shoving and grabbing onto things and sticking her butt in the air. He needed to follow her around!

"Thank you, Mr. Gibbs."

"Call me, Jethro, ma'am," he said and held out his arm to her.

Betty looked down at Ziva and her partner. They still sat with their foreheads touching. He'd put his good arm around her waist and she had both hands on his chest as they sat silently with closed eyes. Was this the 'something' Tony'd been talking about?

Gibbs led her to the door matching his pace to her much slower one. She limped a bit more than usual because of her long sit on the floor. Longest time she'd sat on the floor in decades, she'd be feeling it for days. When he opened the door for her she looked back at the two on the floor again. There was something so peaceful about them now just sitting there holding each other. She sniffed.

"Do you think she'll be okay, Jethro?"

"Working on it now," was his answer.

"Do you think I could visit her in her room? While she's here, I mean."

He stopped, looked down at her and smiled and golly did he have a pretty smile to go with those pretty eyes. Betty thought it was a good thing Frankie wasn't watching this because he'd always been the jealous type.

"I think she'd like that."

She nodded thinking he was through and then he surprised her by adding, "So would I."

And then he surprised her even more by putting his arm around her and hugging her and whispering "thank you" in her ear.

When he let her go she gave him her widest smile, wishing she still had those dimples, and said, "It's what I do, I can't help it. It probably makes me a busybody but I can't see something hurting and not try to help. God made me this way."

Gibbs nodded.

"Which room is your husband's?"

She opened her mouth to answer and then heard a male voice saying breathlessly, "I got the wheelchair, Boss. Where's Ziva?"

Turning around she saw still another good looking man, this one younger with a baby face, maybe closer to Ziva's age, with dark green eyes. She sent a smile his way. Was she turning into one of those, what did they call them now, leopards; the old ladies who liked younger men? She didn't think so. She thought she was just appreciating God's handiwork and that 86 might be old but not dead yet, not by a long shot.

She started as Gibbs slapped the back of the young man's head.

"You're late, McGee. Take the wheelchair to the chapel…"

"Meditation room," Betty interrupted.

Gibbs nodded his thanks.

"Take the damned wheelchair to the 'meditation room' and leave it outside the door. Then go back to Ziva's room and wait for them there. I'll be back after I escort Miz Carelli to Mr. Carelli's room."

McGee's mouth hung open. Betty thought it might be something he did often. It looked too natural. Then he nodded.

"Yes, Boss."

Gibbs smiled as the younger man hurried away.

"You're an interesting man, Jethro, surrounded by interesting people."

He nodded and said, "You don't know the half of it yet, Miz Carelli. You haven't met Abby."

She opened her mouth to ask him about this Abby but then the elevator arrived and they got on, her arm still linked with his.

Author's note:

This seemed a good place to end the story. However, I am considering doing a sequel set a few weeks after this to update us on Betty and her Frankie and how the team is doing.

I hope you liked "Forgiveness."

Betty is based on two women I love very much: my own mom and her mom. So I am dedicating the story and the character to Sally Calhoun and Mary Beach. I really miss you…