New Day Dawns

Disclaimer: I do not own anything connecting to the show.

Summary: Five years after Kate's death, the truth is finally out in the open and it seems that it's not just Tony and Kate who gets a chance at happiness but others, too. Rule 12 is officially dead. Zibbs, Tate, McAbby!

Written for the "From Eternity to NCIS" Challenge and the "Keeping Up With Kate" Challenge on NFA.

Chapter 1

Ziva sat down on the bench and took a moment just to enjoy the sun that warmed up the early Spring air of Boston. It was nice just to be for a moment. But all too soon Gibbs' voice filled her mind and her stomach knotted.

I want you, he put it straight and simple like the man he was. How she wished it would be that easy. In the last months – since Somalia – they grew close and there was nothing Ziva wanted more than to be with the man in every sense of the word. But she couldn't, not until she was bearing a secret that could change the life of so many close to her.

"Adam, stop running!" she could hear a mother call out to her son and she opened her eyes to look for the familiar voice. She just caught sight of the little boy as he fell and she winced. Adam, though, didn't pay much heed to it as he quickly jumped to his feet and, running the remaining distance, he all but threw himself into Ziva's arms.

"Hey there, little one," Ziva chuckled merrily, catching the child. "You should listen to your mother." She chided him and smiled as a familiar expression appeared on his face as he cast down his blue eyes.

"What have I told you, Adam?" Her mother appeared in front of the pair with an exasperated look on her face. "I can't keep patching up your pants."

"Sorry, mommy."

Ziva could only guess that the big puppy dog eyes the boy was currently giving to his mother hadn't always worked when his father tried to appease the woman. God only knows, he must have used it countless times. The smile that was forming on the brunette's lips told Ziva that she had a hard time resisting it on her son's face, though.

"What should I do with you?" she finally asked with an sigh. As an answer the little boy squirmed in Ziva's arms till he was kneeling on her lap and with a toothy grin opened his arms to hug his mother. Laughing at her son's antics, she squeezed him affectionately then, after letting him go, she turned to Ziva with smiling eyes.

"Shalom, Ziva." She leant down to kiss the Israeli woman on both of her cheeks.

"Shalom," Ziva greeted her with a warm voice as she adjusted her hold on Adam and watched the other woman take a seat on the bench.

For a little while they sat in comfortable silence. They'd been good friends for years now – first meeting during a joint operation between Mossad and CIA in a godforsaken town somewhere is Central Asia. It was her first case as a Mossad operative… and it was a case that still haunted her every day.

Ziva was pulled out of her thoughts by a hand squeezing hers. She looked into her friend's warm hazel eyes.

"It's good to see you, Ziva."

"It was too long, yes?" she smiled and the other woman nodded.

"How are things going?"

"Well… they could definitely be better."

The woman was just about to ask what she had meant when Adam lost his patience with the adults and squirming out of Ziva's arms, he spoke up, "Can we go see the ducks?"

"Adam," the woman admonished him and the boy quickly added a "please". The women exchanged a look then stood up to follow the boy.

"I'm glad you're here," Ziva's friend told her, sneaking her arm around hers.

"Me too, Kate." Ziva bumped into her with a playful smile then watched as the woman went to catch up with her son.

Watching Adam jumping up and down excitedly and hearing his happy squeals made Ziva forget about her problems back at home. It didn't take long, though, because when she saw Kate running after her son clearly enjoying every moment she was able to spend with him, Ziva was attacked by the familiar feeling of guilt.

Deep down, she knew that the turn their lives had taken five years ago – and truly much earlier than that – wasn't her fault. Her guilt had got more to do with the fact that she was practically living the life of the woman who was currently crouched at the shore of the little pond, watching the ducks with her son.

If life were fair, neither of them should be here pretending to live a life that didn't belong to them.

"Zeevah!" Ziva heard Adam calling her name and had a hard time keeping back her tears hearing the familiar pronunciation of her name. "Come! They're eating the crumbs!" He was so excited that Ziva had to laugh. Shaking her head to clear it, she joined the couple by the lake and crouched down on the other side of Adam to watch the ducks eat.

It was nearing dinner time when they finally made their way up the stairs to Kate's house. She opened the door and Adam ran in. Ziva hesitated by the entrance, though.

"What it is, Ziva?"

Ziva turned and swept her eyes over the silent street which action was promptly mirrored by the other woman.

"Nothing," Ziva finally shook her head. If Kate didn't pick up anything unusual, she might just be mistaken. "Let's get inside and see whether Adam makes such delicious waffles as he claims he does."

With a groan that was mixed with a chuckle, Kate closed the door. "You just had to encourage him, didn't you?" She looked accusingly at her Israeli friend.

"What?" Ziva looked at her innocently. "He wants to make them for me. I couldn't really decline that offer."

"Of course," Kate chuckled. "He's so has a crush on you," she added under her breath before putting her arm around Ziva's shoulder, guiding her towards the kitchen where Adam had already been waiting for them impatiently. "But I hope you're aware that you're the one who's cleaning the kitchen after that. He is one messy cook."

"It's a deal." Ziva laughed merrily.

True to Kate's words, the kitchen looked like as if a natural disaster had hit the place when Adam finally declared that they were finished.

"At last," Ziva exclaimed excitedly as she scooped the boy up from the little chair he was standing on in front of the counter and placed him on the floor. "Now, quickly, clean up so we can eat."

When Adam scurried off, Ziva took a seat next to Kate by the table and looked at her with twinkling eyes.

"I told you," Kate said, referring to the state of the kitchen, as she reached up to brush some flour out of Ziva's dark hair. They shared a laugh then listened to Adam as he shuffled in the bathroom.

Dinner went by quickly and the little boy's chatting away with abandon made the adults smile the whole time. After dinner Adam insisted that he prepare for bed alone. Kate finally relented but followed him nonetheless to check on his doings in the bathroom.

Left to clean the kitchen, Ziva smiled to herself, listening to the noises coming from upstairs. At one point Kate declared that she was leaving Adam alone to bathe and change but Ziva suspected it was only for the benefit of Adam, seeing that Kate didn't come downstairs until the boy left the bathroom.

"He's changing now," Kate informed Ziva when she finally entered the living room. Ziva had been sitting on the couch by then staring into nothingness. "And I think he wants to watch Hercules… once again." When no reply came from her friend, Kate frowned and went to sit down next to her. She took her time to take in her expression then she sighed. "You're thinking about it again." It wasn't a question.

"Do you blame me?" Focusing on her, Ziva gave her a weak smile. Kate took her hand into hers.

"No." She shook her head. "But you should really give up this line of thoughts."

"I built my life on a lie. Some days it is easy to forget that but there are days when…"

"What happened?" Kate finally asked, sensing that there had to be a specific reason behind Ziva's melancholic mood. They'd had many a conversation about that subject ever since Kate was forced to give up her old life. She knew that it was hard on Ziva to fill in her place at NCIS and – after five years – Kate could only wish for Ziva to finally understand that it wasn't her place anymore – it was Ziva's own place which she had earned by hard work.

"It's been five years" Ziva finally spoke up in a small voice. "Last week was the anniversary."

"I know." Of course she did.

"It seems that that is all everybody is thinking about… which is understandable. They love you. They miss you. But it makes me feel like an outsider – which I really am," she added with a bitter chuckle.

"That is not true, Ziva, and you know that. You're a part of that team. You're not replacing me, you have to understand that. You earned your place among them… in their hearts. I'm sure they love you for who you are."

"Maybe…" Ziva gave her a timid smile, clearly cherishing the idea of having her friends' affection. "But at what cost did I earn that love? I lied to them. I watched them grieve… I still do…"

"Oh, Ziva." Kate cupped her cheek. "I wish I could make it easier for you."

"Don't worry about it."Ziva squeezed her hand that had held her cheek, then, letting it go, she stood up to walk to the large window that looked at the back yard. Pulling the curtain aside, she looked into the dark yard with a faraway look. "It'll get easier. They'll go on after a couple of days… and Gibbs will get over me…"

"Gibbs?"

"What?" Ziva turned to Kate with a confused look.

"You said Gibbs would get over you. What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing," Ziva was quick to reply, turning back to the yard. She sighed in relief when she could hear Adam's footsteps as he came down the stairs proudly declaring that he was ready. She could see her friend walk up to him in the reflection of the window when something caught her eyes outside. It took her only a second to register what she had seen. In that second she could see Adam in her mother's arms and the reflection of a telescope on a rifle.

"Kate!" Ziva cried out, already running towards her friend. She practically flew the remaining distance between the couple and her and with a final call of "down" she tackled the couple to the ground just as bullets began hissing over their heads. "Take cover," she instructed the woman, pushing them towards the kitchen. She could see that, while she was shielding Adam, Kate's eyes were searching for her gun. "Go!"

Fortunately Ziva knew all the places her friend was hiding her weapons – a dangerous thing with a four-year-old in the house but a necessary one when the Russian mob is after someone. Ziva carefully made her way to the mirror hanging on the wall next to the stairs and reaching behind it, she produced a gun. She quickly loaded it then, taking cover, she started towards the shattered window. The bullets stopped but she shot a round into the darkness when a movement caught her eyes. No bullets came as answer, though. Listening into the silence of the night, she turned towards the front door and checked the street for any sign of the attacker. All was silent.

With a curse, she turned and returned into the house.

"Kate, it's me," she called out before entering the kitchen and she could hear as the other woman put her gun, she had undoubtedly produced from one of the cupboards, at safety.

"They're gone?" Kate asked holding tight to her trembling child.

"For now," Ziva answered but her eyes were on the windows and the living room. "Come on, we have to go." With that she pulled Kate to her feet and gently guided them towards the front door. Grabbing the keys, Ziva quickly ushered them to Kate's car. After Kate got into the backseat with Adam in her arms, Ziva was by the wheel in a matter of seconds.

"Where are we going?" Kate asked as Ziva started the car.

"Somewhere safe," was all Ziva told her, glancing in the rearview mirror to meet Kate's worried eyes. She was squeezing her son so tightly to herself that Ziva wondered whether she wasn't making the situation worse for her son. "It will be all right, Kate," she tried to reassure her, even though her heart was beating like a drum in her chest. "When was the last time you spoke to Harper?"

"Two days ago, he was just checking up on us. He didn't mention anything that… oh, God… do you think that…?" The question died on her lips and Ziva didn't need to nod to confirm her thoughts. They both knew what it meant that they had found Kate. "What will we do now?"

"We are going home."

TBC

Thanks for reading!