Summary: Tony gives Ziva a ride home after Shalom. Something is weighing on his mind so he confronts her about it.

Spoilers: Shalom.

A/N: None of it is Betaed (can't even spell Betaed according to spell checker), so all mistakes are mine. This is a pretty long winded one, especially for me. Please review, it makes my day!

Disclaimer: I own nothing (sigh).

(Shalom 4.01)

Ziva: I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Gibbs.

Tony: And me.

Ziva: True, but ah, mostly Gibbs.

Today had not been Ziva David's day.

Granted, after being framed for the assassination of a former Syrian army colonel and two FBI agents, going on the run from the FBI, NCIS and Mossad, tracking down the Iranian she-devil who framed her, getting her to confess and not killing her, Ziva had managed to end the day safely back at NCIS, mostly unharmed, with the exception of an array of minor cuts and bruises. Well, a few significant bruises, but nothing that won't have faded within a month or two.

Even so, it was still nice to not have to worry about anything else for the rest of the evening. Tony had insisted on giving her a lift home and shouting her a pizza dinner, flashing her one of his patented DiNozzo smiles, arguing that the bruising around her eyes would render her driving an even greater hazard to the general populace's health than normal. His words.

He had been unusually quiet the whole ride. In fact, he didn't said anything, other than participating in some idle chatter about pizza toppings, until they got out of the car. Tony had fallen back, still standing next to the vehicle by the time Ziva had already reached her front door. His brow was furrowed slightly and he was staring intently at her. On second thoughts, it appeared as though he was staring straight through her. The image caused Ziva to quickly glance over her shoulder in case she could possibly catch a glimpse of what Tony was concentrating so hard on. The rapid movement in his line of sight momentarily distracted him. He emerged from his reverie looking slightly embarrassed at being caught in such a state of distraction, but obviously trying not to show it.

Tony jogged up the front steps of the apartment. Just as Ziva was putting the key in the lock, he placed his hand abruptly on the solid wooden door, his outstretched arm preventing her from entering. Ziva didn't turn around. Instead she attempted to open the door anyway, but Tony's firm stance was as stubborn as he was himself. Not easily disheartened, she tried to open the apartment door three more times before finally turning to face Tony. He looked...annoyed? Angry?

Hurt. Ziva recognized the look in his eyes from those moments when the voltage on his smile was cranked up highest. When his swagger was a little cockier than usual. When he was indestructible, invincible, untouchable. Those flickering, fleeting moments when he thought no one was looking.

"Why Gibbs?"

The words came out soft as a whisper. Ziva opened her mouth slightly, intending to respond, even though she had absolutely no idea what she was going to say. Before she had a chance to say anything, Tony spoke again.

"Why did you call Gibbs? Why not me Ziva?" The bitterness and aggravation in his voice seemed palpable and he was visibly growing more and more agitated.

"Tony, I..." Ziva trailed off, still unsure of what to say. No, it wasn't that she didn't know what to say, she just didn't know which parts or how much of it should be said. Some things are better left unspoken, but she had to say something. Tony, apparently, needed her to say something...anything.

"Let me guess, you wanted to protect me, didn't want me to get involved."

"Exactly! You could have lost your job Tony, or been arrested for aiding a fugitive." Ziva yelled, unable to control the emotion in her voice as much as she would have liked to. She was pretty sure Tony would have seen through her detached spy-girl attitude anyway. He always had. "Tony, you could have been hurt, or worse."

He lent in closer, until his eyes were level with Ziva's. "Well, I think it's a little late for that Ziva, don't you?" She looked away, unable to meet his gaze any longer without forgetting to breathe.

"So you called Gibbs, because you didn't want to get me or anyone at NCIS in trouble." His words were laced with cynicism, no longer eerily calm as they were just moments ago. "You know what I think Ziva, I think you would have called Gibbs even if he was still team leader. You would have had no trouble getting him involved, would you, huh Ziva?"

She didn't know what she wanted to do more; burst into tears or start scratching his eyes out for being so cold and spiteful. Fun-loving Tony DiNozzo definitely had a darker side and a fine tuned one at that. He narrowed his eyes a little further, as if remembering a long forgotten detail, filed away without the expectation of later retrieval.

"He owed you." uttered Tony, letting confusion and suspicion replace the anger and malice. Ziva paled instantly, ignoring the voice in her head that still reminded her to keep breathing.

"Gibbs owed you, for what Ziva?" Tony asked, visibly shaken now, his voice full of urgency. She had been hiding something. All this time she had been hiding something she shouldn't have, at least not from him. "What did he owe you for, bringing him coffee?". Sarcasm seeped through each shouted syllable, egging Tony on to utter words he could never take back, no matter how hard he might try. "For helping him remember? Because he killed your brother?"

It was as though someone had punched her in the stomach, hard, and knocked all the wind out of her. Ziva's vision blurred and suddenly all she could see was that one moment. His last moment. "Gibbs owed me, because I saved his life" she stated with last sliver of self control she had left, before letting the tears mark salty trails down her colorless cheeks.

"He didn't kill Ari" she shouted through the overwhelming sobs. Tony took in a sharp, ragged breath as he finally pieced things together, knowing it was already too late.

"I did". The barely whispered words seemed to hover in the air as Ziva turned and entered the apartment, closing the door firmly behind herself.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it. This was intended as a one shot, but I do have an idea for a second chapter if there are any requests :)