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Two Wrongs
By Jaina
"I told you that he was guilty," Abby said triumphantly. "All of the evidence pointed towards him."
"His wife gave a signed confession that she had killed the man!" It was the look in her eyes that had convinced Ziva. It was completely empty. She had seen that look in the eyes of too many guilty people not to believe the woman's confession. Even with the evidence, she still didn't believe that the woman was completely innocent.
"She was lying to protect her husband."
"I do not think that's why she was lying," Ziva muttered under her breath.
"I'm still right."
"Because, of course, you must always be right about everything," Ziva shot back. "You are Abby Sciuto. You must be right." She threw up her hands and stormed over to the elevator. She folded her arms over her chest as she waited for the elevator to arrive.
Abby didn't try to stop her, so she got on the elevator and then left the building. She walked to forget what this case reminded her of, to forget that she had been wrong in the past - the young boy she had thought unfairly captured had gone free, and then strapped a bomb to his chest and visited a shopping mall at midday.
With each step she tried to forget the man that she had always viewed as an equal - the man she had trusted above all others - and the man, her own brother, that she had been forced to kill. She had been wrong about them both. Perhaps she had been wrong about many things, but Abby was right.
Abby had been right about Ari too.
Ziva brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, finally taking stock of her surroundings. She had gone about twelve blocks already. Glancing over to the corner, hoping to see a bus stop or a taxi, Ziva saw instead a woman staring at her.
She was a beautiful brunette of medium build. She looked fit and trim and she stared at Ziva as if she saw none of the other passer-bys.
Ziva met her gaze unflinchingly, staring back at her. She found, however, that she couldn't hold the woman's gaze. A chill ran down her spine, and Ziva looked away. Picking up her pace, she walked to the next block. She glanced back over her shoulder as she crossed the intersection.
The woman was gone.
Ziva relaxed her pace slightly as she approached the corner of the next block. She got on the first bus that arrived and tried to simply breathe in the cramped space that was filled with too many people and too much stale air. A motion caught her eye and her gaze flickered towards the back of the bus.
Hazel eyes caught hers and Ziva froze as she looked into the face of the woman who had been watching her at the last corner. Ziva tried to move towards her, but people were too tightly packed together on the bus. She watched hopelessly as the woman stepped off of the bus at the next stop and disappeared into the crowd on the sidewalk.
The bus had reached the next stop before Ziva had managed to fight her way to the doors. She got off and looked around quickly. As she had expected, there was no sign of the woman. Ziva clenched her fists. First her fight with Abby and now she was chasing a phantom woman. With a scowl of anger, directed mostly at herself, Ziva turned to head towards the next bus stop, intent on heading back to her own apartment.
"Looking for me," Ziva heard a clear voice call out from behind her. She turned and found herself facing the woman who had eluded her.
The woman was standing on the huge stone steps of a church, leaning against the doorjamb. She straightened and tugged her suit jacket down.
"I...was," Ziva admitted, slightly confused by the encounter. "Do I know you?" she asked carefully.
The woman smiled mysteriously. "Oh, not exactly." She moved a step or two down the stairs until she was on longer looking down on Ziva and stuck her hands in her pockets.
"Abby's been wrong, you know," she said without preamble. The woman quirked a smile. "Exactly twice, I believe."
"Excuse me," Ziva stammered, but the woman ignored her and kept speaking.
"She was wrong when she thought that we would have forever," she said with a sad smile, "And she was wrong when she thought that you were a heartless bitch. We're all wrong sometimes, even Abby. The trick is not letting it get in the way of living your life to the fullest." She shrugged and walked past Ziva. "Think about it."
Ziva hesitated and then turned to watch the woman as she melted into the crowd. "Thank you, Caitlin," she said softly.
Special Agent Kate Todd raised a hand in an acknowledging wave as she faded into the throng of people rushing past on the street.
"Hello," Ziva said when Abby opened the apartment door.
"Hi," Abby said coolly.
Ziva pulled a single black rose from behind her back and held it out. "I'm sorry. You were right."
Abby took the rose and stepped back. She was unable to contain a hint of a smile as Ziva stepped inside. Abby sniffed the rose.
"I shouldn't have rubbed it in," she admitted grumpily.
Ziva laughed. That was her Abigail. Without another word, Ziva slid her hands up into Abby's hair and kissed her. Sometimes there were things more important then right and wrong and she was grateful to a woman that she had never met for reminding her of that. She would savor every moment, every decision, every kiss and worry about right and wrong later.
The End