Being a trained special agent was like having a sixth sense. After too many years of life on the edge, he could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he approached his apartment. Something was different. The door wasn't kicked. There weren't any obvious signs that something is wrong, but he just knew. Drawing his gun, he unlocked the door on guard.
As he walk slowly, carefully through the apartment, but as everything seemed to be in order, he began to relax. He almost missed her as he went into his bedroom to change. She barely made a lump in his bed. When his eyes finally did recognize her still form, he thought he was hallucinating. She couldn't really be here. It had been a year, almost to the day, since he had left her in Israel.
Moving closer, he brushed one of her curls out of her face, only to notice she had a busted lip. He didn't know if it was the feel of her soft hair, the smell of her familiar jasmine perfume, or the fact that she was injured that convinced him she was real. All he knew was that his ninja had come home, and that someone had hurt her again. He couldn't figure out if she was injured anywhere else, as she had the covers tucked under her chin.
"Hey, sweet cheeks," he called quietly, sitting next to her.
"Tony?" she blinked, looking around confused for a moment.
"Yeah, it's me. Whatcha doin' here, Zee?"
"I was…" she looked away, wincing as her hand came to her mouth, knuckles a little bruised and bloody. "I do not know what I was thinking. I just needed a safe place, and I found myself here."
"Are you hurt?" he asked, taking her hand to inspect her knuckles.
"I am fine," she promised, though her eyes continued to avoid him. "I should be going. I should not have come in the first place."
"Zee, I am not letting you go anywhere, until I know you'll be safe."
"I can take care of myself, Tony," she promised, though tears shown in her eyes.
"I will call Gibbs, if I have to. Does he even know you're back?"
"I am not back. I am merely passing through."
"And you were just going to pass through without even seeing me, or Abby, or Gibbs, or anyone?" he growled, now more than a little angry.
"It's for your own good, Tony. I can only bring pain and death," she whispered, trying to get out of bed.
Instead of allowing her to leave him yet again, he grabbed her arm, pulling her back toward him.
"I know you are my crazy ninja, but I can tell you right now, that you are not leaving until I know you're safe. Deal with it," he said, the look in his eyes daring her to contradict him. After a moment, she sighed, allowing herself to be held, as he inspected her for farther injuries.
"So, last I knew you were getting out of the business, what have you been up to?" he asked, satisfied that she was not in dire need of medical attention.
"I was doing a favor for an old friend," she answered.
"And?"
She heaved a sigh, clearly he wasn't going to let it or her go.
"I was contacted by an old friend of my mother's. Her daughter had married an American and moved to the States, but after a few months of living here, she dropped out of the atlas. Officials are not worried, because there is no evidence of foul play. Her husband told the investigating officer that she had run off with her personal trainer, but Ruth refused to accept this. So, she reached out to me, and I promised I would do what I could to find her daughter. At least, make sure that Mira is safe."
"And what have you found?" he asked, the detective in him drawn in.
"Not much, the husband's story is impossible to prove or disprove. Their financial records show nothing out of the ordinary, but that is the strange thing. If she were planning on running off, don't you think she would have been chipmunking money away?"
He grinned in spite of himself at her turn of phrase. "That would be a pretty logical conclusion. Did she have her own source of income?"
"Not that I have been able to find," her nose scrunched and she rubbed her temples, trying to ease the pressure that was making it hard for her to see.
Tony, of course, took note of her obvious discomfort. Untangling from her, he went in search of something in the bathroom. A moment later he returned with some aspirin and a glass of water.
"When was the last time you ate?" he asked, feeling the turning of his own empty stomach. "I was going to order from Chang Fu's?"
"I could eat," she shrugged, not wanting to tell him she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten more than a power bar.
"The usual?" he asked, already dialing the take out place they always ordered from when they used to have movie nights together. Ziva nodded her head, too tired to do more. She didn't know if it was the altercation with those thugs, the fact that she had been up for days, or simply the fact that she felt safe for the first time in months, but all she knew was that she couldn't keep her eyes open another minute.