"Jenny Shepard." I greet the red-headed woman with a kind smile.

She presses her cheeks against mine, hugging me informally. "Eva. How nice to see you again."

Next to her stands an unfamiliar woman with dark, wavy hair. "Ziva David, Mossad." The brunette extends her hand out. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Special Agent Evaline Giudice. And likewise." I shake it politely. "What are you doing here, Jenny? I thought you'd be halfway across the world by now."

"You. . ." Jenny tugs on the ends of her blazer, "are looking at the new director of NCIS."

"Congratulations." I smile brightly, this time opting to hug her.

"I would have stopped by your apartment in New York, but you failed to mention you'd already moved to D.C.."

"I needed a. . .change of pace."

After introducing themselves to Tony and Gibbs, Jenny walks up to her new office, and Ziva steps away to answer an urgent phone call.

This leaves the guys to corner me. "How'd you know the new director?"

"Run anti-terrorist ops with her at age seventeen?" Gibbs stares in Ziva's direction, squinting his eyes in thought every few seconds.

"Of course not." I roll my eyes.

Men.

"Then. . ."

"She's my godmother."

After returning from her phone call, Ziva sits at McGee's desk.

There's not a single doubt in my mind that Gibbs will send at least one of us to follow her when she leaves.

Ziva and Gibbs go back and forth, arguing about their personal beliefs about Ari and the mistake Mossad made in Norway.

"You two. Elevator. Now." Gibbs beckons us onto the lift before shutting it down completely.

"Huh. Not as exciting as I thought it would be." I grumble under my breath before turning to the older agent. "So, this is what it's like to be you and Fornell during one of your secret meetings."

Gibbs places his hands on our shoulders, leaning forward near our ears. "I want you two on Ziva's ass. Tail her."

"And why do we need to do that?" I cross my arms over my chest, glancing back at the man.

"She's been in contact with Ari." He presses the button to open the doors. "It's the only way she could know I hung up on him."

Once he's gone, Tony and I are left alone on the lift.

"Do you. . .do you ever get the feeling that Kate's still here?" I smile to myself when a graceful breeze brushes past my figure almost symbolically, and the doors close.

A small tear falls down my face.

"Like she's somehow still with us?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

A round of pizza and milkshakes, Tony and I are standing inside a hotel while cold rain continues to pour outside.

Tony keeps glancing down at his watch. "Are we supposed to just wait out here until she finishes in the pool?"

"You can." I pull my hair out of its ponytail, letting it fall down my shoulders. "I'm going in for a little midnight dip."

My hand latches around my gun, and I let out a breath.

"Keep my gun safe." I place it in his hands. "Kate got it engraved for me for Christmas."

But he shoves it back into my hand. "Ari is out to get you. How can you possibly get him if you don't have a weapon?"

Standing on the tips of my toes, I gently kiss his lips.

"You'll be watching me."

The air is cold inside the room, but I'm hoping the hot tub is a lot warmer. Ziva continues to swim laps, not noticing my presence. In the locker room, I strip down to my underwear before walking out.

From the little window placed on the door, I see Tony cautiously staring at me.

With a small eye roll, I slip my feet into the warm water, then my legs, and finally my upper body.

Another woman, dressed in a white robe, walks in through the door. Right at that moment, Ziva pushes herself out of the pool.

"Mind if I join you?"

"All yours. Have a nice swim."

The two cross paths, Ziva walking to the robes, and the other woman entering the water. I notice a necklace around her neck just before she completely submerges herself underwater.

The Star of David.

From outside, Tony signals to his neck, and I nod.

Ziva grabs the robe on the left, although I distinctly remember hers was on the right.

As soon as the woman falls into a pattern of swimming, I grab onto the rails and climb out. My entire body shivers from the sudden cold air, but I keep my eyes on the robe.

Slipping my hand into the pocket of the robe, I pull out an envelope and a passport. The envelope contains a number of hundred-dollar bills.

But the passport. . .

It's a fake — Ari's face but a different name.

"Hey!"

The woman calls out to me just when I discreetly drop the contents back into the pocket.

"What are you doing?"

"Julie!" The two of us turn to the door, seeing Tony step through. "I thought I told you to wait for me until you get into the pool."

I clear my throat, signaling him to shut up. "You must have me mistaken for someone else, sir."

"Is this not the meeting place for the Hackensack Nudist Society?"

"No."

"That's the last time I leave Agnes in charge of setting up the schedule." He walks out of the room, leaving us alone.

"I should be heading up to my room." I grab a white robe off the hook, hoping to God it hasn't been used. "Wouldn't want to keep the husband waiting."

"Whatever."

Once I change back into my regular clothes, I run out of the pool room and out into the lobby. "Uh, did you happen to see a guy run by just now? Black leather jacket, brown hair?"

The receptionist points at the door.

Damn it. I have to go out in the rain. A dark figure sprints across the street to a black sedan flashing its headlights.

That better be Gibbs, or I'm in trouble.

Fortunately, I find Gibbs and Tony in the front seats. I slip into the back, grabbing one of the blankets I kept inside. Gibbs passes me a bottle of water.

"Hackensack Nudist Society? Really, Tony?"

"It's the best I could come up with under the circumstances."

I chug half the bottle in an attempt to catch my breath. "Phony passport and cash. From Ziva to the other woman."

Tony has probably notified Gibbs of the second woman.

"How'd you know it's a phony?"

"Ari's photo, fake name." I sniff the air, the vague smell of a hot pizza. Tony passes me back a box, causing tears to prick my eyes. "Oh, thank God."

Before I can take a slice, Gibbs grabs it back. A small whimper escapes my lips.

"Got the name for me?"

"René Saurel. That's all I could get before Tony came running in search of the nudist convention."

"Good girl."

Once I get my hands on a slice, I sink back into the leather seat, trying to relax and catch my breath until Gibbs sends me running again.

When we see the second girl walk out of the hotel, Gibbs and Tony are right behind her, leaving me with the pizza box.

At least it isn't raining anymore.

"Espresso?" Ziva extends her hand to me, the coffee cup sort of symbolising a peace offering. "I promise you, it is not a bribe."

I take it hesitantly. "I take it you knew we've been following you?"

"Since I left the Navy Yard."

"Told Tony the blue sedan's a dead giveaway." Chuckling to myself, I sip the piping hot liquid.

We are left in a comfortable silence, the only sound of cars passing by on the street and the thunder rumbling in the distance.

"I lost my little sister Tali in a Hamas suicide bombing." Ziva abruptly reveals to me. "She was sixteen and one of the best in Mossad."

My lips tighten. "I'm sorry for your loss."

But death has been an all too familiar term in my life.

"I lost my mother to 9/11."

"I'm very sorry."

"Your half-brother took us hostage in our own building a year ago." Her head snaps towards me at my words. "You're not the only one who's done their homework."

Reaching for the last slice of pizza, Ziva takes her leave back into the hotel.

"It was nice meeting you."

"Likewise, Ziva."

A lot can happen in two days. A life avenged by taking another. At the hands of his own sister, Ari is dead.

My fingers grip the red rose tightly as I stop beside the casket. Even after days of grieving, the tears can't seem to stop.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Was that him?" Kate speaks up, a knowing smile gracing her features. "You know. . .him?"

"Him? Who him?" Tony butts in like an uninvited guest.

"None of your business, DiNosey." I shoot him down quickly. "And, yes. It's him him."

"Are you wearing the red?"

"I was thinking the black."

"But the red. You look great in the red."

From the corner of my eye, I see Tony nod his head eagerly. "Yeah, you look great in the red."

"Quit it!" Kate and I shout at him at the same time.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

You found your peace, Kate.

One by one, the rest of the agents drop a rose on her casket before greeting her family. Gibbs places his hands on Abby's back as well as Jenny's.

My fingers intertwine with Tony's, my cheek pressed against his shoulder.

It's time I found mine.