A/N: This was an idea that just wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it down. It occurred to me after I remembered a particular scene from the 2006 remake of 'The Omen'. Anyone who's seen the movie will know what scene I'm talking about. Yeah- really creepy scene. And this is what it inspired.
"How many times must I tell you two?" Ziva said in exasperation. "I am fine!"
"You're sitting in a hospital bed with a bullet in your shoulder, Zee." Tony pointed out. "I'd hardly call that 'fine'."
"It would not have happened if you had been a little quicker on your entry into the warehouse, Tony! In any case I do not need to be here! I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"
"No one doubts that you are, Ziver." Gibbs replied. "But right now, the only one who's going to be taking care of you are the hospital staff, whether you like it or not. You've got a bullet wound and you've lost a notable amount of blood. Until you get the all clear, you're staying right here."
Ziva shot Gibbs a frustrated look. She honestly felt they were making much too big a deal of this, and it was not as bad as they made it out to be. The team had gotten information that a local warehouse was being used to smuggle weapons belonging to the Navy to local drug gangs and had gone out to stop it.
What they hadn't counted on was the fact that the transaction would be happening the moment they got there and in the resulting gunfight Ziva had taken a round to the shoulder as she'd taken down one of the arms dealers. Even though she had claimed she was fine, she had promptly passed out at the scene from blood loss and had woken up to find herself in a hospital bed with a bandaged shoulder and an IV line. Needless to say, her mood did not improve.
"But I do not understand why I must remain here while you two and McGee continue to track down the remaining members of the arms dealing group."
"Because I need everyone at their best for when we actually do find them." Gibbs replied immediately. "And Mossad trained or not, you're not going to be much use with a busted shoulder. We'll check back on you in a little bit. In the meantime Ziva, try to get some rest; you're far too uptight and wired than a person should be in your state. We'll be back soon."
As the team leader walked out, Tony gave a little smile and wink towards her. "Don't try to miss me so much, sweet cheeks."
Ziva shot him a glare as he followed Gibbs, then allowed herself a small smile as she heard the satisfying sound of Gibbs head slapping Tony just before the door closed. In truth, she had long come to terms with Tony's childish antics and while they could annoy the hell out of her some days she found she enjoyed the banter that occurred between them. Sometimes she found herself provoking him just to start up such banters- and beat him at them. Of course, she'd never actually tell him that but still…
She leaned back against the pillow and closed her eyes. She originally had thought she had made the wrong decision by choosing to become a fulltime member of NCIS, but now she saw that it had been the best decision of her life. She was surrounded by people who cared about her and who treated her as more than just a tool to be used. She appreciated that and now viewed all of the members of NCIS as her 'real' family; Gibbs, their fearless leader who she viewed as a surrogate father; McGee, whom she loved like a brother and was proud to see had turned from a mere tech expert to a good field agent; Abby, whom she considered a little sister that may not be able to replace her real sister but was as close as she was going to get; Ducky, whom considered a grandfather figure who told her endless stories…
And Tony…
Ziva's own thoughts about the ex-cop were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Opening her eyes, she saw a young blond woman with her hair tied back in a bun and young man with brown hair, both wearing white lab coats, step into the room. Ziva's eyes narrowed; she didn't recognize these two as the doctor and nurse she had previously seen. A slight feeling of suspicion crept into her stomach.
"Can I help you?" Ziva asked.
The woman gave a small smile as she came up to the side of the bed; Ziva's feeling of uneasiness grew stronger. "As a matter of fact you can. We require your assistance in a very important issue and only you can help us resolve it."
"You see, we would like to repay you for your excellent work." The man continued. "Your excellent determination. And to show you our generosity," he held something up to his face, "we're going to show you your payment firsthand."
Ziva looked up to his hand and caught her breath in her throat; the object in the man's hand an ammunition case- the same ammunition case as those the team had found belonging to an automatic weapon in the warehouse. The same weapons used by the arms dealers…
Ziva immediately and instinctively tried to get up and defend herself, but the combination of the blood loss she'd suffered as well the fact of being attached to an IV significantly slowed her movements. The two assailants quickly grabbed hold of her and forced her down onto the bed.
"Now, now," the woman said in a phony-soothing way as she grabbed hold on the restraints on her side of the bed, "let's not make this any more difficult than it already is." She forced Ziva's hand to the bed side and strapped it down with the restraint, while on the other side the man was doing the same thing to her other hand. "You've already done more than enough for one day; fortunately, after just a couple of minutes," she smiled, "you won't have to worry about overworking yourself ever again."
The two assailants strapped Ziva's feet to the bed as well before stepping back and admiring their handiwork. Even as she forced an angry expression on her face, Ziva couldn't help but feel a wave of fear sweep over her; strapped to the bed she was completely helpless and couldn't move at all. Oh God… I am only in here for a minor bullet wound and now I cannot even defend myself! Gibbs, Tony- where are you?
Satisfied that the former Mossad officer would not be getting up again, the man walked over to the door and locked the door, standing with his back against it. While that was going on, the woman reached into her pocket and pulled something out of it. Ziva strained to catch a glimpse, and then froze when she saw what it was; a large syringe filled with an orange liquid…
"Don't expect security to be coming to check up on you- we already took care of them." The woman said as she removed the top from the needle. "As for your colleagues, they already have departed back for NCIS; they won't be helping you either." She flicked the syringe several times, gazing into the orange depths. "And by the time they get back, it'll already be far too late for you. This is an extremely fast acting poison that attacks the cardiac system; once injected it will stop your heart within two minutes. Officially, it will look like you merely suffered heart failure due to complications with your bullet wound- which is more than what you deserve after what you did to our friends at the warehouse." She smiled a sick smile at Ziva. "But I suppose one has to take what one can get, isn't that right?"
"If you honestly believe you will be able to just kill me without leaving any trace behind," Ziva said bitingly, "then you do not know NCIS at all. They will find you and hunt you down."
The woman raised her eyebrows. "Well then, I guess we'll just have work quickly." She slowly turned towards Ziva's IV line, studied it for a moment and then brought the syringe closer…
A rapid knock on the door brought all three people's attention rapidly towards it. Ziva's eyes widened; she tried to give a shout to whoever it was as to what was going on, but the woman quickly clamped a hand over her mouth. Holding the struggling Ziva, she looked back towards her fellow assailant. "Don't just stand there!" She whispered furiously. "Get rid of them!"
Still keeping a tight hold on Ziva's mouth, she turned towards the IV line and brought the needle back close to it. The Israeli followed her movements and watched in terror as she observed the woman insert the syringe into her IV and inject the entire contents of it into the bag. Ziva's eyes filled with fear and horror as she watched the poison enter the IV line and began the slow but inevitable descent towards her veins…
A/N: So how is it so far? Please review!