Chapter Text
Moshi Moshi
(Hello)
Ziva felt the plastic handset creak under her tight grip as she implored McGee to find a way to fix her problem. "My flight has been canceled, they are closing the airport soon, find me a way out of here, McGee."
~Maybe you should just get a hotel room there and wait out the storm.~
"No." Even though he couldn't see her, she shook her head. "All the hotels rooms are already taken, all the couches here at the airport are already taken. If I stay here I will be sleeping on the floor. Find me someplace, McGee. If I cannot get back to DC, then find me somewhere else to wait." Ziva was regretting the favor that had left her stranded at a mid-west airport at the beginning of a blizzard. She held her breath as she listened to the rapid fingers on a keyboard and the sub-vocal muttering that told her he was finding her another option.
~Okay, there's three flights still going out tonight... yep, they're all full with passengers on stand-by... maybe a charter flight, there's more charter flights than commercial at that airport... Well, that's interesting...~
"What, McGee? What did you find? At this point, I would take a cargo plane."
---NCIS---
Back in DC, Tim pinched the bridge of his nose, not believing what he was about to offer. He'd very carefully kept his parents away from NCIS, dreading the possibility of his team hearing 'little Timmy' stories. On the other hand, Ziva was still unsure of herself since Somalia and if anyone could help her feel better, it was his dad. For better or worse, her flight had been cut short, leaving her at one of the lesser used airports in Michigan. An airport that was sitting on the western edge of an unexpected blizzard that was shutting down air travel from there to the eastern seaboard. A flight the other direction was her only option, as the storms had moved past her new destination.
Decision made, he IM'd his mother as he told his teammate her options. "You might think a cargo plane is better, Ziva. A charter flight is leaving at gate C 19 in about forty minutes. It's a high school girl's basketball team from the town where my parents live. They're flying to the nearest airport and then taking a school bus the rest of the way home. It's a little town with no hotels, but you could stay with my parents until the storms are over and the airports open back up." Offer made, he waited, listening to the silence at the other end.
---NCIS---
Ziva chewed on her lip as she looked around the airport at the other passengers settling in for a long wait. "That is very kind of you, McGee, but I do not wish to impose."
~You're not, believe me. I just checked and Mom's got a big pot roast in the oven and the guest room is all ready for company.~
It was more tempting than she could ever admit. "You are sure that my arrival would not cause a problem?" In the background Ziva could hear the instant message chime from McGee's computer.
~Well, my mom's already called the coach to make sure they save you a seat with the adults and my dad is outside putting chains on the car.~
"Then I guess it is settled." In reality, Ziva was relieved that the decision had been made for her. "Perhaps I will get to see your baby pictures while I am there."
~Yeah, well...~
Smiling for the first time since the storms had hit, she let him off the hook. "Do not worry, I will not bring home copies for Tony. Now, how will I recognize your parents?"
~Mom's a blonde version of Sarah, and Dad... let's just say that of all the parents that will be meeting the bus at the high school, he's the last one you would suspect to be my father.~
Curious, but convinced she could spot the senior McGee easily in a crowd, Ziva thanked him for his family's generosity and began the long trek to the waiting jet.
Charter flight 73-18 was the last flight to leave before the smaller airport outside of Lansing. As promised, Ziva's seat was next to the coach. "I appreciate you allowing me fly with you. I hope it will not cause any problems for you with the school."
"No worries, I'm Allison, by the way." The tall woman with curly red hair and a riot of freckles just grinned. "Tom McGee is one of the largest boosters at the school. If anyone complains, we'll just tell them you've another chaperone. So, you're a friend of Tom's son?"
"Ziva David, yes, we work on the same team."
"Just work?"
"Of course, anything else would be... inappropriate."
Allison just grinned again and returned to her paperwork as it was late and most of the girls were sleeping. Two hours later a sign on the building told Ziva that they were in Butte, Montana before they climbed out of the small jet and onto a bright yellow school bus. Several new inches of snow covered what had already been on the ground for some time, but the driver was obviously used to driving on the messy roads. The amount of snow on the roads increased as they traveled, and by the time they pulled into the school grounds, it was over a foot deep. Signs congratulating the Tyler Corner's Lady Hawks decorated the parking lot and a group of moms were waiting with steaming hot chocolate while the fathers unloaded the luggage.
Hot chocolate in hand, Ziva leaned against the bus as she watched the reunions. From the squeals of laughter to the stuffed animals and flowers that the girls were now clutching one would think they'd won something much bigger than the fifth place trophy she'd seen in Allison's carry-on. For not the first time, Ziva wondered what it would have been like to have this kind of childhood, to have her parents cheer for doing her best, even if someone else was better, to laugh and giggle with her friends instead of learning to kill. But most of all she wondered if her father had been at all relieved when she'd been rescued, or if he'd been disappointed that she'd failed her mission.
As the family groups became evident, Ziva looked more closely at the remaining adults. The short, Asian man laughing with the staff as he checked off a list on his clipboard made her smile, but then she became serious about finding her hosts. It took a moment, but she spotted an older version of Sarah, but with the pale coloring of her son, at the treat table set up next to the bike rack. She looked up and waved at Ziva before returning to her task of refilling cups.
Satisfied that she hadn't been abandoned in the wilds of Montana, Ziva returned her attention to the rapidly cooling drink. When she looked up, the Asian gentleman was standing in front of her. "Umm, hello, I'm..."
"Ziva David, I know. Welcome to Tyler Corner, I am Tomo McGee."
"You are McGee's father?" Ziva realized that after eighteen hours she was too tired to figure out the joke someone was playing on her. The twinkle in his eyes did remind her of McGee, even if the color and shape were all wrong.
"But of course, I believe my son told you to look for the person you would least expect?" He held his arms out, "and here I am."
The woman she'd already identified as Mrs. McGee came over, shaking her head. "Don't mind him, it's an old joke between them. I'm Nancy, Tim's mother, you must be exhausted and hungry, so why don't we take you home."
Ziva didn't even realize that her bag had been taken from her until Nancy took her hand and tucked it under her arm. "Thank you, I hope you did not go to any extra trouble for me. I hate to be a bother."
Ziva's bag on his shoulder, Tomo opened the car doors. "It's never a bother to visit with one of Tim's friends. Rare, but never a bother. Now, we've got a fine pot roast waiting for us at home, so let's get there before the roads freeze back up."
Nancy took the back seat, leaving the passenger seat for Ziva who spent the entire trip wondering just how she'd managed to miss the fact that Tim McGee's father appeared to be Japanese.