It was Tony's idea.


The others never said it, but they knew it was so.

Ziva David would be buried beside Caitlin Todd.

It was a mutual decision, one they all agreed on.
Even though the two had never known each other, it was better for the team if they were buried together.

Ziva's funeral was alot like Kate's, too. Same procession. Ziva's family had agreed it would be best for Ziva to be buried in Washington, rather in Israel. That way the team could visit her.

The tombstones were different, of course, as were the women who lay beneath them. Uptight, Catholic Kate, always picking at Tony, best friends with Abby, ganging up on McGee. The only one who could cuss at Gibbs and get away with it. Jewish Ziva, who flirted with Tony, sometimes taking it a little too far. The one Abby hated with a passion, who was as secretive as Gibbs and who's driving was just as bad.

The two eveen died in the same way: gunshot to the forehead. Ducky had done a good job of cleaning them both up, you could barely tell. All though Kate's death wasn't accidental. Ziva had simply gotten in the way. Of course Tony and Gibbs had killed the man responsible. And yes, they actually did kill him, not a cover up like with Kate's killer.

In a way the two are connected. No one still knows that Ziva was Ari's half sister. It's a secret she took with her to the grave.

And as the funeral ends, the team turns and looks back. Two tombstones are beside each other. And the people beneath them are connected in a way they never knew.