EM: My sequel to In Seconds and Minutes. Therefore this means if you have not read In Seconds and Minutes than you are in the wrong place. Click on my name and scroll down to my stories and find it. I am very excited to be posting this. I didn't think that I would do a sequel when I had first started writing ISAM, but after I finished I'm like "I can't not do a sequel." And so here it is! Reviews are so very, VERY much appreciated!

A/N: I dedicate this chapter to those of you who reviewed and requested this sequel. thump, ChEmMiE, KYTIVAFAN, Servant05, NilesLover101, Gladius Grim, Betherzz, lovebugbex, oxcaitymariexo, NCISTIVAFAN94. I love you guys! Thank you again for reading and reviewing!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, we'd all be much happier.

Going Home

It had been 2 and a half weeks since she had seen the bullpen and it was driving her insane. Physical therapy was wearing her thin and all she wanted to do was go home and sleep in her own bed. She reached across the bed, feeling a small ache across her abdomen that was becoming familiar, and started to rapidly tap the nurse call button. Her impatience bubbled over, "Nurse!" And then Tony walked in.

"Zi-va. You press the button once. Repeatedly punching it will not get them here any faster." He walked next to her bed. "It'll only make'em slower," he mumbled and Ziva couldn't help but smile. He was right of course. The nurses were the worse part of being in a hospital. They came when you didn't want them and weren't there when you did. It didn't help that some of them had the worst bedside manner she had ever seen and that they tended to gossip about everything. She may have been severely injured but her hearing, surprisingly, had not suffered. If only they had known that in her previous life, she had been an assassin for Mossad. She looked up as Tony replaced her old flowers with a new bouquet, which was obviously from Abby.

"I know, black roses again. But Abby forced Tim into switching with her since she isn't going to be able to make it to see you this week." She smiled serenely, picturing Abby distressed over something so little as a hospital visit. They were all being so gentle about her, that it was starting to make her sick. She was a trained officer. Not a child.

She watched as Tony absently rubbed his arm. "Are you alright?" He turned to her question. "Yeah. Abby was just really upset." She laughed, her abdominal muscles pinging with slight irritation. She was starting to wonder when that would go away. When Tony saw her jaw clench, he reached out and touched her cheek quickly with his fingertips. She barely had time to register the moment when he was pulling up a chair next to her bed and rambling off quickly about Gibbs and Vance complaining over some case they were working on.

It was moments like that that brought her back to the realization that there was something going on between them that had yet to make an appearance. She didn't deny anymore, the fact that they had something. But moments like that was all she got from Tony. Quick, fleeting and sweet. Just when she thought he had forgotten their exchange on that day, he was pushing aside her hair, lightly touching her hand or giving her a look that made her heart beat just a little faster.

"Ziva?" She looked up at Tony's voice. He was looking at her in concern and she instantly wished she had been paying attention.

"Ah, I am sorry. What did you say?" His lips pursed. "I asked if everything was okay. You were sort of spacing there." She cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Spacing? I do not understand." At her confused look, Tony started laughing. He hadn't realized how much he had been missing that confused look. The bullpen was empty without Ziva. There was no flavor, no spice. When he looked up, all he saw was this big gaping hole. And on days when he really missed her, like today, he made trips to her room to see her. She had been transported at the request of Vance to Bethesda, closer to home. Tony was glad that Vance had done it, otherwise he would have pushed Ziva there himself.

"You just looked like you weren't listening to me." She ohed and folded her hands neatly before her. The silence between them stretched, though it was not entirely uncomfortable.

"I want out of here Tony. I want to go home." He had been waiting to hear that quiet submission for a week now. He could tell that she was getting restless and that being here, instead of at work, was like torture to her. Or at least he had hoped that what was she was feeling and that it wasn't just him.

Though she would never admit it, she had greatly liked Tony's visits. Even when he came during her therapy session, which she wished he wouldn't have come to either. He was the one who came the most, Abby being the second. Gibbs called more than he visited which surprised her still. Gibbs wasn't a phone person. McGee was third but his visits were usually short and casual. Ducky visited as well.

But if she was honest, the one who visited the most was Saleem.

There was too much time for her to think in this place, too much time without her daily distractions. No Tony to banter with, McGee to tease or Abby to laugh. Gibbs wasn't there to give a smack to the head either. Whenever she was left alone with nothing to keep her busy she would either drift off to sleep or daydream. Neither was good. Usually she thought of her days in Africa, captured. And in her dreams Saleem would torment her and Eli would degrade her. She couldn't win in those situations, so whenever someone came to visit she always sighed in relief. It would be another hour or so without pain.

"You're doing it again." She jerked up this time, feeling her eyes swollen at the thought of Africa and her father. When she looked up Tony's eyes widened in shock and she turned her face towards the window, breathing deeply and pushing back the pain. She didn't want Tony to see her like that. Weak, crying.

Afraid.

She hated that she was afraid, but the hospital only brought back painful memories. She felt too exposed here, and the workings of the hospital reminded her of her imprisonment and also her escape from it. Those months in Somalia had been...there were no words to describe Somalia. Since she had come back, her team had had been there for her, though they did it subtly which she was grateful for. But the scars had not yet healed, both mentally and physically. When anyone came to visit, she made sure that her body was covered. As embarrassing as it was to know that they had all seen her body when she had flat lined, she had hoped that they had all been too distracted to notice the knife wounds that razed her skin, the multiple burn marks. The brand at her hip. The most troubling one, though was the 5 inch scar, thin and white that ran just above her left breast, the area over her heart and then down the valley between. Saleem had been in a good mood that day, finding that whenever he talked about her father, her heart picked up speed and this thrilled him. He loved to make her squirm. It was the hardest scar to hide and the most difficult to deal with. Every day she had but to look down and there it was, that little white line just above the collar of her shirt and all she could see were Saleem's eyes, cold and calculating and then the sharp, slick feel of the blade as it pierced her skin.

"Zee?" She felt his hand rest on hers, warm and comforting. And then the tears spilled over her cheeks, hot and embarrassing.

"I want to go home!" She whipped around, the tears still falling and Tony leaned back, his mouth dropping momentarily before he berated himself and closed it. He squeezed her hand and leaned forward. Her chin fell to her chest and Tony was at a loss for words. This wasn't just about going home.

"What else is bothering you Ziva? What aren't you telling me?" The tears seemed to fall faster and Tony stood up and sat on her bed, reaching up and lifting her chin, brushing away the tears from that cheek. Her brown eyes, filled with sadness and fear, pierced Tony to his soul.

"Ziva…" He leaned forward, finding words escaped him at this moment, when she looked so emotional, so scared and so raw.

So beautiful.

His forehead fell against hers and he closed his eyes, breathing deep. "I'm here Ziva. I'll always be here." She hiccupped, a sound he had never heard from her and opened his eyes, into hers.

She had never meant to expose so much emotion to Tony. Being in America had truly softened her, and in some cases she didn't mind. But this? She was could almost hear the ashamed tone of her father's voice, berating her for being weak. "I am not weak," she whispered, forgetting that her father would have no more say in her life.

"No," she heard Tony say. "You're stronger than you know." His breath blew across her cheeks and she could feel his proximity, and more precisely the proximity of his lips. He had gotten closer. She watched his green eyes, constant and beautiful and felt his want to kiss her.

He was so close she could almost taste him, his lips just barely grazing hers.

"Excuse me." Tony jumped up so fast that he almost knocked heads with Ziva. She turned away from their visitor and quickly wiped her face as Tony turned around, clearing his throat and straightening his suit.

"I'm here with Ms. David's release papers?" The nurse looked embarrassed but she didn't let it prevent her from doing her job. To be honest, having Ms. David out of the hospital would be a relief. Though her situation was sad she had been trouble to take care of.

"Uh...right." Tony stepped aside and the nurse approached Ziva quickly, hoping to get out of there soon.

Tony watched as Ziva turned her eyes, rimmed only slightly in red, as she listened to the nurse and nodded to each statement. She took hold of the pen in her hand and signed where the nurse pointed in three different places and then smiled and left. Ziva breathed out a sigh of relief after she had left.

She could finally go home.

"Did she say when you could leave?" He watched as she thought something over.

She did not think she was strong. Here she hid her scars from the people who mattered most, the ones who would probably be able to heal her. But she couldn't do it. She could not bear the shame or relive the pain again as they looked at her battered body. She could not stand to see their eyes fill with sorrow. She turned to Tony.

"I may leave today." Tony noticed that she did not look as happy as he thought she might have been.

"Oh." He watched her face fall slightly. "Do you want me to go and get you some clothes?" Although he wasn't sure what he clothes he could get her. Abby's perhaps? He could always run down to his car and grab the t-shirt and sweatpants he kept in the trunk.

"No, that is not necessary. Abby brought me clothes during her last visit." She looked down at her hands and they clenched the bed sheets tightly. She wanted to get up, but the thought of her hospital gown opening even the slightest prevented her from moving. He absolutely could not see them.

"Tony?" He looked up at her voice, stepping closer. "Would you leave so that I may change?" His shoulders slumped slightly.

"Right," and then he walked out the door closing it behind him.

When he left she sighed. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed she stood on her feet slowly. Though the damage from the explosion had been severe, to the point of being almost taking her life, she had never been one to take things slowly and had previously been anxious to do things she did normally. And so she had learned from her previous hastiness, that she was still flesh and blood and that it did take time for things to heal. She pulled the clothes from the drawer next to her and proceeded to untie the robe. She stripped herself of the t-shirt she had been wearing and flinched at the pull from her abdomen when she pulled it over her head. Reaching down she placed a hand over the wound where the shard of glass had been embedded in her skin. That was going to be a thick and ugly scar. Just another to add to the collection.

"No more two piece suits," she muttered to herself and then pulled out the clothes. Abby had bought her new things, though she had protested it. The first was a bra, simple, clean cut and black. She smiled when she went to put it on. The clasp was on the front. Abby had been thinking of her again. When she adjusted it to her comfort she realized that there were two miniature bats, embroidered in white along the right cup. She couldn't help but laugh. The underwear was the same, black with two bats along the top.

The t-shirt, to her relief, was dark green, fitted, simple. Just what she needed for going home. And the jeans fit perfectly. Abby had been the right choice for clothing selection.

Tony debated knocking to see if she needed any help, though how he would help was beyond him. He just hated seeing his Ziva so distraught. He knew that after Somalia she wouldn't be the same, but sometimes he just wanted to hold her. Though they had finally gained a semblance of normalcy and their banter and flirtations had started to become habit again, there were times when he would catch her spacing out, the look on her face one of pain or emptiness.

Every day he wanted to ask her about it. What had happened to her in those longs months she had been gone. And then he wondered if he really wanted to know.

The door opened to his left and he turned to see her poke her head out, looking for him.

Watching her walk slowly out of the room, wearing slippers and her hair braided loosely over her shoulder, Tony knew that he had to know. For his sake and more importantly for hers, he had to know. She had to talk to him. The only way the walls between them would crumble would be for him to confront her, to hold her up, be her support. Let her know that no matter what, he would always love her. Let her know that he would be her pillars of strength when she had none left for herself.

"Tony? Are you ready to go?" He focused on her again, her slightly pale face, puckered lips. She held her old clothes in one arm and the other hung loose at her side.

And he smiled. "Let's go home Ziva." She looked confused for only a moment and then a small smile graced her features. He held out his arm waiting for her to start walking.

"No wheelchair my stubborn ninja?" She smiled again and punched him, lightly, in the arm.

"I have legs Tony." He laughed, knowing that, though the walls were still there and there may be things she was hiding from him, that having her back at NCIS would be like a breath of fresh air. He would finally be able to breathe again.

He placed his hand lightly on the small of her back and walked her out, the warmth of her body a quiet reminder of what he had missing all along.

EM: Tony and Ziva were a bit OOC. But, in the words of our ninja, it is what it is.

Reviews are a sign of your kindness.

A/N: The sort-of-sequel to this is up and titled What He Really Meant. Read it!