Author's Note:
Thank you for all the great reviews. I loved them. I've been travelling Spain and have not had a chance to update...
Here's the next chapter, Enjoy and review soon….
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What the hell's wrong with you and why did you hide it from me?
Gibbs was furious. Although he never volunteered information about himself he expected his team to keep him informed about every … well almost every aspect of their lives. And Ziva? He had a special connection to her. So how the hell did he miss the fact that she wasn't okay?
You missed it because you were trying to avoid your feeling for her, Jethro.
"Damn it!" he swore under his breath, as he floored the accelerator. He reached for his phone and called Ducky.
"Ducky, meet me at Bethesda."
"Oh dear, Jethro, are you hurt?" The ME's voice sharpened with concern.
"It's Ziva." Gibbs explained her symptoms and Ducky promised to get to Bethesda within the hour.
"Argh!" Ziva cried out.
That terrified Gibbs. The Ziva he knew was a tough, strong woman and for her to be rolling and crying out in pain, she had to be in some serious pain. He watched her in the rear view mirror for a second. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her knees bent up to her chest and her lower lip caught between her teeth.
Hang on, Ziva.
He pulled into the emergency area of Bethesda Hospital and was out of the door before his car came to a complete stop.
"I need a Doctor." He shouted as he opened the back door and reached for Ziva. The minute he had her out of the back seat, she lunged forward and gagged. Nurses rushed to her side and helped Gibbs get her onto a gurney.
"Madam, can you tell me what's wrong." A nurse asked as they rushed Ziva into the ER.
"She has bad stomach cramps and vomiting." Gibbs answered.
"And you are?" The nurse asked Gibbs as they wheeled Ziva into the ER.
"Her Boss."
"You'll have to wait outside, sir."
"No." Ziva cried out. "Stay with me…. Please…. Argh!"
"Shh Ziva, I'm not leaving you." Gibbs said glaring at the nurse.
"Okay." The nurse said looking strangely from Ziva to Gibbs.
Ziva moaned, turning onto her side. Gibbs slipped his hand into hers and squeezed as she was placed in a cubicle. Ziva held onto his hand, pulling it close as she cradled her stomach.
"Ziva. It's going to be okay." Gibbs whispered close to her ear.
Two nurses rushed into the cubicle and started examining Ziva.
"Where exactly does it hurt?" A nurse asked.
"Right side… here." Ziva said taking Gibbs' hand and squeezing it over the right side of her lower abdomen.
The nurse moved Gibbs and Ziva's joined hands out of her way. She pulled Ziva's shirt up and undid her pants before examining her stomach and pelvis. Gibbs tried to look away, but he wanted to know if she had any bruising. He noted her firm, smooth abs and the flare of her hip bone.
He had to close his eyes, when wayward thoughts raced through his mind.
The second nurse started taking Ziva's vitals, wrapping a pressure cuff around her arms, taking her pulse, and placing a thermometer under her arm.
"Argh…" Ziva gasped.
"Ziva?" Gibbs focused on her face as she rolled her head from side to side on the pillow.
"Give her something for the pain." Gibbs insisted.
"Not yet, Sir." The nurse said.
A doctor walked into the cubicle. "We have to find out what's wrong with her first." He said before turning to the nurse to get an update.
"BP's 132 over 94, pulse 143, temp's 102.3" the nurse said.
"Get an IV going and do a full blood work up." The doctor instructed before looking at Ziva. "Madam, can you tell me when your symptoms started?"
Gibbs caressed Ziva's head and repeated the Doctor's question when she didn't reply.
"10… 12 days…"Ziva replied as the Doctor examined her side.
10 to 12 days ago!
Ziva damn it!
"Administer Perfalgan 10mg for the pain and fever."The Doctor said.
"Madam…"
"Call her Ziva." Gibbs growled.
"Ziva, the pain medication should take effect shortly. We're going to draw blood to run a few tests." The Doctor said filling in a form.
"Are you pregnant?" The nurse asked.
"No… Argh…" Ziva gasped.
"The nurses will take you down to Radiology to have x-rays and an abdominal scan done." The Doctor said.
"While we do that, can you please open a file for her at the reception desk?" the nurse asked as she tried to get Gibbs to leave Ziva.
"David, hang in there." Gibbs said a moment before following the doctor out.
"What's wrong with her?" He demanded.
"It could be a hernia or appendicitis. The scans and blood test will reveal more." The doctor said.
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Forty five minutes later, Ducky was once again telling Gibbs to sit down. Tony and McGee took turns stepping out of Gibbs' way which wasn't easy in the narrow ER waiting room. Gibbs was worried and for the first time it showed in his eyes.
McGee and Tony had just finished clearing the crime scene, when Ducky called them with the news. They handed all the evidence to Jimmy to take back to the office and headed straight to Bethesda. Tony informed Jenny and McGee told Abby. They said they would be over as soon as possible.
"What could be taking so long?" Gibbs asked again.
"I'll go and find her Doctor." Ducky said standing up. As he reached to the door, it swung open almost knocking his face.
"Gibbs!" Abby shouted, running forward and wrapping her arms around him. "She'll be okay. This is Ziva. Nothing scares her, nothing."
Yeah… but she had been scared when I left her. Gibbs remembered the tortured look in Ziva's eyes.
"Do you have any news?" Jenny asked.
"I was just about to go…" Ducky said moving forward.
"Ziva David's famil?." A nurse entered the waiting room.
"Yes." Ducky said.
Gibbs stepped forward and stood nose to nose with the nurse. Abby wrapped her arms around McGee and Tony's waist.
"We will be taking Ms David into surgery and need her next of kin to sign these forms." The nurse said.
"Does Ziva have acute appendicitis?" Ducky asked, Jenny setting closer to him.
"I'm afraid not." The nurse said handing the forms over to Ducky.
"A hernia?" Tony asked as he, Abby and McGee stepped forward.
"No." The nurse said.
"Then what is it?" Gibbs demanded his fists clenched as he moved forward. Jenny places a hand on his shoulder to hold him back from the nurse who backed up a step.
Abby, McGee and Tony looked at each other, fear and concern sparkling in their eyes.
"Oh dear." Ducky exclaimed, looking at the forms that needed to be signed.
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Author's Note:
That's it for this chapter….
In the next we find out what is really wrong with Ziva.
And Gibbs and the rest of the team speculate on how Ziva will handle the news…
So stay tuned and review ASAP. Thanks….
