Rekindling the Flame

Adding the Kindling

Chapter 2 - Adding the Kindling

Twenty minutes later and the sanding had done its trick. The rhythmic back and forth motion had settled some of Gibbs' frustration and, although still worried about both his girls, he knew they'd have to start talking soon. 'His girls'? He didn't really have the right to call them that. Well not Jenny anyway. Ziva was definitely his girl, but Jenny? He had taken to wondering recently how she saw their current situation. Since Ziva and Tony had regressed, Jenny had certainly played a more active role in his life. Visiting more often, being his sounding board when he needed advice, offering a woman's point of view when it came to dealing with Ziva and generally just being a pillar of strength. He really didn't know how he would have made it through the last couple of months without her help. But what did she think of it all? He wasn't totally clueless. He had noticed the little looks she used to give him making an appearance again, the subtle touches such as a gentle hand on his arm, a brush against his cheek. But were these just signs of friendship? He certainly didn't want to rush forward and misread something.

He was suddenly pulled from his musings by a loud crash from upstairs. Rushing up the stairs two at a time, he stepped into the kitchen to see Ziva standing near the stove surrounded by water and a large pot lying on its side on the floor.

Hurrying to her, Gibbs said, "Was that water hot? Did you burn yourself?"

"No Daddy," she said quietly, shaking her head.

Fear quickly turned to relief, which then evolved into anger as he looked at her standing there, water dripping down her front and a guilty look on her face.

"What happened?" asked Jenny rushing into the room. "I must have fallen asleep. I didn't know she was in here."

"Hey what was that bang?" said Tony as he too rushed into the kitchen. "I was upstairs when I heard this loud noise. Woah, Ziva! Did you take a bath and forget to get undressed?" he added looking first at the dripping Ziva and then at all the water on the floor.

Ignoring both of them, Gibbs crouched down to Ziva's level, took hold of her arm and said sternly, "What were you doing?"

"I'm sorry Daddy," she said quickly.

"Ziva, what were you doing?" he asked again.

"I was trying to make the pasta for our dinner, but the pot was too heavy and I dropped it," she said quietly staring at the floor.

"Even after both Jenny and I told you no?" he asked lifting her chin and looking into her eyes.

She didn't say anything but nodded slowly.

"There's a reason why we tell you these things Ziva," growled Gibbs. "What if that pot had been full of boiling water? You could have been severely burnt."

Knowing she had done something seriously wrong, Ziva began to cry. "I just wanted to make us dinner," she sobbed.

"Jenny said you could help when the time came," Gibbs reasoned, trying not to be affected by the large doe eyes that always pulled at his heart. "Why didn't you wait?"

"Jenny was asleep," she said sniffing. "So I thought I might surprise you all and have it ready. I didn't realise it would be so heavy." She stepped into his arms and put her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Daddy, I was just trying to help," she added crying into his neck.

He put his arms around her and hugged her tightly. He knew it must have given her as much of a scare as it had the rest of them. "Ziva, this is why you need to listen to us when we tell you something. We don't put rules in place just to annoy you or take away your fun. We do it to keep you safe. Now I know you were only trying to help, but you were told not to try and make the pasta on your own."