Gibbs POV

I leaned back against the seat, my arm resting against the small window. The aircraft wasn't that bad, but I would've liked to avoid going through an actual airport on our way to the marine ship.

I opened the file again and re-read it.

File Name: Abroad

Description: Special Agent Gibbs and Agent David will be watching the Abraham and going undercover as a couple to investigate suspicious terrorist activity in Europe. The mission can take between three to seven months and is classified. Only the captain knows about this op and it must be kept confidential. If your cover is blown, call SECNAV and tell them "red, white, blue." The hotels you will be staying are as follows: Hotel De Bordeaux in Paris, Hotel Inner in Amsterdam, Hotel Coronado in Barcelona, and Austria Trend Apartment Hotel in Vienna. Your equipment is waiting for you in Paris, your first stop and the Abraham's first docking point. Last but not least, keep the silver case we gave you at all times, it will be your life saver if you are in any danger.

Contact: You will meet your contact, a medium height woman about 5 feet 2 inches outside the airport. You will address her as "Melinda" and she will give you specific details on the terrorists.

Dangers: This op can cause immediate death of anyone you come into contact with. We know that there are some terrorist groups that are scattered around or within a ten mile radius of your hotel and the ship. Be on your guard at all times, if you let your guard down once or let Intel slip that you are a federal agent you will be killed.

I sighed, running a hand over my mouth and glared out the window. Vance had only told us a few hours ago and sent us home packing. My jaw muscle twitched as I thought of the danger he was putting us through. I knew that no matter what our jobs held some sort of danger, but I had been so determined to not put Ziva through any of it.

I had only found out recently that I was in love with her. Her beautiful brown eyes, luscious brown hair curled into ringlets and soft tan complexion. She was perfect in all sense of the word; her personality caring and funny, her eyes always seemed to twinkle when she laughed.

I sighed again, I was in love with my partner for this op, and that could potentially kill us.

Ziva POV

I was hunched over the small bathroom, throwing up everything that I had eaten that day. I felt my throat gag and clench in agony as I choked. I felt tears burning in my eyes and wiped them hastily away. It was taking all I had not to just pass out on the floor right then and there. My arms felt like noodles, trying to grip onto the seat and keep myself upright.

"Ziva?"

I froze; I knew that voice. It was the voice that I had been dreaming of for the past month. I could see his blue eyes, boring into mine each time our hands brushed each other accidently. I could still smell the sweet scent of the barely there cologne that he wore.

"Y-yes," I breathed, my voice sounded foreign, even to me. It was scratchy and worn as if I had been shouting the whole day.

"Ziver, are you OK, can you open the door?" His voice was hushed and his hand hadn't stopped pounding on the flimsy door.

I sighed, and slowly crawled towards the lock and unbolted it. In a flash, he was inside, closing the door behind him. I felt the last bit of my strength go away and collapsed onto the cold hard floor.

Then, I felt his arms slide around my body and didn't bother pulling away this time.

"Ziva, what happened?" He asked, pulling me onto his lap, brushing away my hair from my sweat coated face.

"I do not like planes," I gasped out and struggled against his hold and went for the toilet again, emptying my stomach.

He pulled my hair out of the way for me and when I was finished, he handed me a glass of water and I obediently rinsed my mouth out.

Then, to my annoyance, he laughed.

"Never thought you would get motion sickness, Ziver, DiNozzo, maybe, defiantly McGee, but never you," he chuckled under his breath.

I struggled to my feet, leaning against the door, "Well I have just never liked planes, is all."

He opened the door for me and snaked an arm around my waist, helping me into my seat next to his. I couldn't help but feel the heat and to closeness between us and blushed a faint pink. There was barely any space between us and it was driving me crazy.

I turned and felt his eyes boring into the side of my face and turned to looked at him.

"What is it, Gibbs?" I asked, my tone apprehensive.

"You sure you're OK? You look pretty pale," he observed, his hand on my forehead.

I shook my head, "I am fine, just do not like planes."

He nodded, not believing it but gave up on the topic. I heard a crackle and then a voice.

"Please fasten your seatbelts, we will be arriving in Paris, France in a few minutes. We hope you had a good flight with us!"

I fiddled with the seat belt and saw him reach over and buckle it for me, his hands lingering on my waist for a second and then turning away.

"You imagined it, stop being so stupid," I chastised myself.

I felt the plane gradually lose altitude and braced myself for the impact that was about to come. The plane thudded onto the run way, shooting forward.

He looked at me, "Do you have the case?"

I nodded, holding up my right hand. The cool medal felt heavy on my already bruised wrist and the fact that the case probably weighed about twenty pounds didn't help either.

"Any idea what's in it?" He asked, eyeing the case doubtfully.

I shrugged, "Guess we will find out soon."

The seatbelt sign flashed off and I jumped out of my seat, grabbing our suitcases from the overhead bin and began to fix my hair.

"Ziva, what if something happens to us on this case," he began, his tone serious.

I shook my head, "Nothing will happen to us, Gibbs, because we are both very good agents."

I could see the doubt in his eyes but he didn't bother arguing with me. I looked forward again, and began to move out of the plane, stepping through security checkpoints and finally out into the lobby. That's when it happened.

I looked around the airport, looking for this Melinda when I saw what looked like an Arabian man with a black leather duster stalking towards us. He made a signal at a man behind us and then there was an explosion.

"Gibbs look out!" I yelled, pushing him forward just as a wave of gas and smoke flew around the airport. I covered my mouth and nose with my hand, struggling to breathe. I couldn't seem to focus on the people around me and felt my nose sting from lack of oxygen. My head began pounding and I just barely dodged out of the man's reach.

"Get her! She is the one he wants!" I heard him yell in Arabic. I stumbled blindly towards what I thought was the door and was stopped by floods of people.

The airport was chaos with people yelling and screaming left and right. Suddenly, I felt a strong arm grab my hand and looked up, trying to focus my eyes and was suddenly drowning in pools of blue.

"Come on, we have to get out of here!" He yelled above the noise, pulling me to his side, he bolted for the fire escape door and burst through it, practically dragging me down the stairs until we reached the airport parking lot.

I pumped my legs, we were running side by side and hand by hand. His touch by itself sent goose bumps up my arms and made my brain blur with images of him.

We slowed to a stop when we neared a woman with light brown hair and matching eyes. She looked about 5"2' and when she flashed her badge, I felt myself let my guard down just a little.

"NCIS, I was told to meet a Gibbs and David here," she whispered, looking at the two of us.

I nodded, not bothering to try and pull out any identification when I could barely stand on my two feet. My head was pounding and I saw spots everywhere.

"We need a car, something fast that will get us to the listed hotels," Gibbs whispered, his arm still wrapped tightly around me, supporting almost all of my weight.

She looked at me for a second, "She was hit, wasn't she?"

He nodded and we were ushered into a black Honda parked nearby. I opened the door and collapsed on the back seat, my breathing heavy. My headache was slowly dimming but I could barely focus.

"Does she still have the case?" Melinda asked, getting behind the wheel and gunning the engine to life.

I nodded, holding up my right arm for her to see. The case danged from the handcuffs and shimmered in the light.

"Damned thing almost got her killed," Gibbs muttered beside me.

I laughed, "I am not dead yet, Gibbs, it was simply too close for comfort."

He nodded, his posture stock and unyielding. His eyes were focused on the road ahead of us and I saw his muscles tense.

"What is wrong, Gibbs?" I asked, my voice groggy. I was slowly gaining my strength back and could focus on his face now.

"We're being tailed," He hissed.