A/N: This is my first NCIS story, so please be nice. =) This is what I hope happens in season 10 with my number one OTP. I hope you like it!
Tony quietly slipped into Ziva's hospital room and took a seat by her bed. The former Mossad agent was asleep under the stark white covers. Her dark hair was fanned out over her pillow despite the white bandage on her head, and Tony resisted the urge to brush away a stray hair on her face.
He technically shouldn't be there. He needed to be in his own room recuperating after that awful explosion. But he couldn't stay away. He couldn't let her be alone.
He remembered that day quiet clearly. He should, it was only yesterday. Still, he remembered all of it with perfect clarity. The moment they had figured out Dearing was nearby the navy yard and he put a bomb in Vance's car. Gibbs took off with Cole to diffuse it, and McGee started to download his computer onto a flash drive.
That left him and Ziva to evacuate the building. They walked through the entire building making sure everyone was out safely. The good thing about it being filled with trained federal agents was that everyone knew the importance of keeping relatively calm. Otherwise Tony would have lost his mind trying to get people to slow down.
When they finally got everyone out, Tony tried to get her to leave and get to safety.
"Alright, that's everyone. You go, Ziva," Tony tried to say. She immediately grabbed his arm and dragged him down a different hallway.
"No! I'm not going without you," she hissed.
That was how they ended up in the elevator when the bomb went off. The whole building shuddered, and the elevator began to crumble in. The two of them fell to the floor after wrapping their arms around each other. They groaned as the pieces of plaster and metal fell on them, and then began to cough as the dust cleared.
"Tony?" she whispered, her voice hoarse and weak. "Tony, are you okay?"
"Yeah," he groaned. "Yeah, I think I'm alright. How about you?"
"I'm okay," she said softly. The two of them were silent for a moment before Ziva spoke again. "Do you think everyone else is okay?" Tony could hear the fear in her voice, and he tried his best to pull her closer to him.
"I don't know," he said sadly. "Gibbs and Abby may be alright, but I don't know about McGee. He was in the bullpen when I last saw him." His heart clenched that the possibility of that being the last time he saw his best friend.
"Ducky may be the only one truly okay," she whispered. She was thankful for that small miracle.
"How long do you think it will be before they get us out?" she asked in a small voice. Tony sighed.
"I don't know. It depends on the amount of damage. Are you seriously injured?" he asked fearfully.
"I don't think so." At first she sounded fine, but after a moment Tony could hear the pain in her voice.
"Don't lie to me," he insisted as forcefully as he could. "Tell me the truth."
Ziva hesitated a moment before answering. "My head hurts. A lot." Tony winced at how pitiful her voice sounded.
"You probably just have a concussion." He struggled to move underneath all the debris. When he managed to get a small look at her, his stomach twisted. He saw blood.
"Are you sure it's just your head?"
"I don't know," Ziva whispered before she fell silent. When he heard her breathing even out slightly, he knew she passed out. And with a possible concussion, that wasn't good.
"Ziva," he whispered urgently. "Please wake up. Please don't let your injuries be worse than they seem. Don't leave me before I can tell you…" His voice trailed off as the severity of the situation came crumbling down on him. If he lost her, he didn't know what he was going to do.
He had always felt attracted to the Israeli, but he assumed it was merely physical at first. Then they got to know each other better, and everything changed. He began looking forward to their early morning teasing sessions in the bullpen, and he loved introducing her to new movies.
When she returned to Mossad for a bit then was captured in Somalia, Tony felt like part of him was missing. He couldn't go on without her. It was just like he told her when they finally saved her.
"Couldn't live without you, I guess."
And yet, when she came back he couldn't tell her how he felt. He didn't even know for sure. Plus with all the tension about that stupid Michael Rivkin, he decided it was better to leave her be.
But now he knew. Granted, it did take a little bit of coaxing from EJ and Wendy to finally help him see, but he knew.
At first it didn't seem possible because of CI-Ray, but he and Ziva (thankfully) broke up. Tony could still remember that night in the bullpen when he and Ziva had been oh so close to kissing before CI-Ray called and screwed it up.
Tony saw the look in her eyes that night. The look that suggested she might feel the same way.
Then the explosion almost ruined everything. They had been rescued an hour or so after the blast and taken to the emergency room right away. To Tony's displeasure, they had been split up.
In terms of injuries, he was fine. His ribs were bruised a bit from the impact of falling on the ground and the falling objects. A lot of dust in his lungs led to a lot of coughing, but he was fine. The doctors ordered him to rest in his room for at least one night, which was why he was there now.
Tony had only been in his room for a half hour when Gibbs walked in. His boss should have been resting as well, but obviously he wasn't about to listen. He filled Tony in on the fate of the rest of the team.
Gibbs himself had gotten cut by a few pieces of glass, but was okay overall. Abby was the same way. Vance got out alright. McGee suffered the worst out of all of them, having been hit right in the chest. He would have to stay in the hospital for longer, but he would make a full recovery.
Tony listened with bated breath as he waited for Gibbs to tell him about Ziva. She was fine. She did have a concussion and a slight head wound, but she was okay.
A smile began to spread across his face until Gibbs told him about Ducky. Apparently Palmer had been walking the beach down in Florida looking for the M.E when he saw him passed out on the beach.
"Heart attack," Gibbs said simply. Sadness shone brightly in the older man's eyes.
"Is he okay?" Tony asked desperately. Gibbs said yes.
After he left the room, Tony wanted to see Ziva more than ever, but the news of what happened to everyone made him sit still for a long time. Finally he reminded himself of what this whole situation taught him.
Life's too short.
So when he was sure the nurse wasn't paying attention, Tony slipped down to Ziva's room (he got it from Gibbs). And that was where he was now.
He didn't know what he would say if she woke up. What could he say?
It looked like he would have to figure it out soon, for she was beginning to stir. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around the bare room. After what felt like an eternity, her eyes landed on him.
"Tony?" she croaked. He gave her some water from a pitcher.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine. What about you? What about everyone else? Are they okay?"
Tony filled her in on what happened with everyone else, and her eyes watered slightly when he told her about Ducky.
"Oh my God." She closed her eyes. "How did this all happen?"
He knew she wasn't looking for an answer, but he gave her one anyway. "One man's hate and need for revenge caused it. It just overcame him."
Ziva opened her eyes and looked at him sadly. "It is not right. This world has too much hate. It's awful."
Tony rarely saw the normally strong woman break down, but when she did, it broke his heart. All he wanted was to soothe her pain, so he reached over and took one of her hands.
"There's still some love," he said softly. "I've seen it. Felt it."
Ziva's eyes widened slightly, and she took a deep breath. "Me too."
He squeezed her hand. "I've been stupid."
"More so than usual?" Tony laughed quietly.
"Yes." He looked deep into her eyes. "I've been ignoring something important for way too long."
"What's that?" Her voice was no louder than a whisper.
"My love for you."
"Tony…"
"Just hear me out," he said earnestly, leaning forward in his chair. "I understand if you don't feel the same way, but I love you, Ziva David. I have for so long, and I hate that it took a stupid explosion to get me to tell you."
She reached up and cupped his cheek with her free hand. "I love you too, Tony."
"What?" he said surprised. Ziva laughed: a beautiful sound.
"I love you, Anthony DiNozzo. I love you and your crazy movie references and your slightly annoying jokes."
"Slightly annoying?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Okay, very annoying." Tony smiled and leaned over her so he could kiss her. The hand cupping her face slid to the back of his neck as she pulled him closer.
And it was then that they both knew everything would be okay.
Please leave a review and tell me what you thought! =) Thanks for reading!