A/N—Oh, wow. Based on the reviews I received, I now feel as if this conclusion isn't going to be what many were hoping to see. Still, I'm sticking with it because I feel this is an appropriate end. This is just a short little epilogue of sorts for the previous chapter; it takes place a couple days after the explosion. It's a drastically different chapter, something quiet to balance out the violence and action of the first part. I hope you all enjoy :)

It was well after eleven in the evening by the time she made it to the hospital. Despite the fact that visiting hours had already ended, Ziva had persuaded the woman at the nurse's station to allow her just a few moments. She quietly entered the dark of Tony's room and closed the door behind her, careful not to disturb him.

By the illumination of the various medical equipment, she could see the doctors had propped him on his left side, his back to her. Though she could not see them for the gown that he wore, she knew that beneath the fabric lay a patchwork of sutures, bandages, and soon-to-be scars.

As she circled the end of his bed, she found that he was indeed sleeping, to which she was grateful. She stood level with his head before maneuvering a chair that sat by the wall, facing it so she could look directly at him. She sighed, wiping her hands over her face before slouching into the back of her not-so-comfortable seat. She stared at his sleeping form for a moment before leaning forward and whispering, "I confronted my father today."

She started fiddling with her fingers as she said quietly, "We got into an argument again about where I hold my loyalties. He actually asked me why I had abandoned him," she laughed in humorless exasperation. "So I just shouted back at him..." she said, absently brushing a stray strand of hair away from the bandage on her forehead. "I told him exactly why I am here, and why I have no plans to return to him or Mossad. I told him...every little detail," she said quietly, her face suddenly saddened and preoccupied.

She sniffed before straightening herself a bit and continuing her one-sided conversation. "But I also told him that there were other reasons I was staying, reasons that had nothing to do with him. I did not feel he needed to know these. But I feel as if there are people here who need me. People here that I need...People that I care about..." she whispered, lapsing into contemplative silence again.

She stared into his sleeping face for another moment before standing slowly. She was about to leave when she leaned down hesitantly and kissed the right side of his head. She whispered quietly into his hair, "Thank you. For everything that you have done for me." She pulled back and gave him one last look before crossing the room and re-entering the hallway beyond.

As the door gently clicked shut behind her, Tony slowly opened his eyes, looking at the chair that Ziva had just vacated. He stared at it for some time, absorbing what had just transpired, the beepings of the monitors the only sounds interrupting his thoughts.

A/N-I'm glad so many enjoyed this story, and I hope I wrote an ending that no one was disappointed with :) . Any comments, criticisms, and reviews are always appreciated. Until next time, happy reading!