There had been paperwork of course, when they brought her back. Everyone had to fill out their own, stating what happened from their point of view. DiNozzo and McGee's were straight forward, telling how the operation had gone down.

Then there were the psych evals. The administrator told them they were expected to share everything pertinent to the operation. No detail was to be left out. They both said they understood.

What they didn't share in the report and eval was the conversation between Ziva and Tony…

McGee was lying on the floor, pretending to be asleep. When Salem returned he heard the door bang against the wall and could tell he was dragging something or someone in with him. He heard the scrape of the chair as the person was forced to sit down.

He listened as Saleem informed them that people in town were asking questions, that they knew there were missing NCIS agents somewhere in the region. When Saleem told Tony and the other person that they were to choose who lived and who died, he wondered who this second person could be.

He knew, the moment that Tony asked "So, how was your summer?" that it was Ziva. His heart thumped in his chest, adrenaline running through his body. He couldn't believe that they had actually found her. That she was alive.

He listened as Ziva asked Tony what he was doing there.

The words "Couldn't live without you, I guess." filled the cell and McGee felt a surge of sadness shoot through him. Part of him wished he could see Ziva's face. See her reaction to Tony being brutally honest for once.

"So you will die with me…you should have left me alone." That sentence broke McGee's heart. He could tell by her voice that she had given up long ago. She probably had given up hope that she was going to be rescued. They were here now, but they had taken too long getting there. They had left her down.

Everything else was a blur; him kicking Saleem's feet, the gun being pointed at his head. He raised his hands up, surrendering as Tony yelled at them to stop. Then he started to ramble about how he was the wildcard of the group. He of course made some movie reference, he was Tony after all.

Then came the final words. "Remember when I told you my boss was a sniper?" He heard the bullet as soon as it passed through the glass and into Saleem's body. He quickly jumped up and cut Tony loose. He tried not to notice how light Ziva was. How she could barely stand on her feet.

Soon they were in the hallway, Ziva in between the two of them. Once the final gunman fell they were greeted with a figure draped in camo.

Gibbs.

"Let's go home." Those had been and would be, his favorite words that day.