So so so sorry I took so long but I emailed this to my editor two weeks ago. I dont blame her though cause our trachers hate us and decided to swamp us with homework and essays. So sorry again about the delay, but oh well. Oh, and I lied. I've changed this to a 3 shot cause I got a good twist I had to put in, so i needed to put in another chapter for it. Hope you enjoy, I worked hard. :)
Dangerous Distraction
Chapter 2-Discovering Her Dirty Little Secret
The sun shined brightly through Tony's steamy bathroom. He had just come back from his run and taken a shower when the phone began to ring. Tony threw a white towel around his slim waist and ran to the phone. He picked it up on the fifth ring and cringed as he read Gibbs on the caller id.
"Hey, Boss. Sorry I just got out of the shower and-"
"I don't care, DiNozzo. We got a body. Meet us at 21 Traders Drive in 20 minutes," Gibbs ordered.
"Come on, Gibbs! It's the weekend though and can't-"
"Tony! Stop complaining and hurry up. I know today is your day off, it's mine too, but just get your ass over here ASAP!" Gibbs yelled, cutting Tony off again.
Tony was about to say goodbye and hang up, but Gibbs stopped him, his voice trying to hide worry and concern. "Hey, Tony…you didn't hang out with Ziva last night or know if she was going anywhere did you?"
"No…"
"'Cause, uh, I can't get a hold of her, and I called three times. Would you swing by her place before you get here, maybe she's sick or suttin'. Just check, okay?"
"On it, Boss!"
They both hung up and Tony tossed his phone on his bed next to his pants. Trying to think of why Ziva didn't answer started to worry him and made him move faster. Within 2 minutes Tony was all dressed and tossing his cell phone in his pocket. He ran down the cement stairs of his apartment out to his car. His green mustang awaited him and carried him down the street to Ziva's house. The new apartment she had gotten was only a block down the road from Tony's and Tony couldn't help but smile at this. She had had choices of places, but she had chosen the apartment closest to his. Others could say it was the great modern kitchen, or the unique set-up, or even the large bedroom, but Tony knew better. After these last four months, she needed a friend close by, someone to call and could be over in less than a minute. Well, that hadn't happened yet, but Tony hoped it would. Ziva hadn't been…well Ziva ever since they left her in Israel and he wanted her to be able to talk to him if she needed it.
He pulled in front of the building and hopped out. Tony climbed the stairs quickly, two at a time, but didn't know why. How could he know if Ziva wasn't in trouble? She probably just woke up sick and was too tired to answer. Yet, something made Tony run to her door instead of waltz over, still sleepy from being pulled from his house early in the morning. He had missed his morning coffee, didn't get to have breakfast while watching the morning cartoons, but all that didn't matter anymore. Tony just had to get to Ziva and see if she was alright.
Tony's knock on the door echoed through the apartment. He could see no lights on from under the door and that something came back to push him again. Something was wrong here and Tony didn't like it. Hands fishing through his pockets he finally found her extra key and pulled it out. The knob clicked open as Tony unlocked it with the key. He pushed the heavy door open revealing…nothing. Everything was the same as he had seen it when he came over for a drink the other night. There was no sign of a struggle, so the worry of Ziva being kidnapped or something left his mind, but only to be replaced by new ones. Had she gone out to a bar and never come back? Was she drunk somewhere? Was Ziva, his Ziva, with some random guy from last night?
Tony walked a little further into the cozy apartment and stopped at her bedroom door. What if she was asleep? Did she possibly have company last night, and that company was still there? Or worse…did some bad company leave her and he would walk in on her sprawled out on the floor? Tony bit his lip as his hand hovered over the knob. Finally, he made himself open the door. But, the bed was untouched and the door to her bathroom was wide open showing that she was not in there as well. He turned around and walked right over to the kitchen. What he saw in here worried him. On the island was an empty, knocked over bottle of wine. In front of it was water…no, it wasn't water, but tears.
What the Hell? Where's Ziva!? On the counter were her keys and pocket book. She couldn't have gone far if her purse is still here, Tony thought. Also next to her pocket book was a small pile of receipts. Curiosity grinding away at him, Tony picked up the pile. To his horror they were all from package stores. The first dated back to a week after Ziva came back and the most recent was from yesterday night…timed right after they got off work. They all had a bottle of wine, then either a six-pack or bottle of rum or whiskey. The one from last night though had wine, beer, and some rum. Tony could not believe what he was seeing. Could Ziva really be drinking? The thought frightened him. His father had been a drinker and had turned bitter and depressed. It ruined Tony's childhood and Tony could not bear the thought that his best friend had turned to drinking rather than talk to him or ask for help.
Tony sighed in a horrible feeling of helplessness and gazed out the window. Then, something caught his eye. There was something under the window but he could not see it since the couch blocked it. Tony walked around questioning. Suddenly his breath hitched as he saw that what he was seeing was the top of Ziva's head, who was sitting slumped over on the floor. Tony rushed over to Ziva's limp form. He yelled her name but she did not respond.
"Ziva! Zi! Come on, Sweet Cheeks! Answer me! What did you do to yourself, Ziva!?" Tony begged. He gripped her small shoulders and shook her softly. Her head moved slightly back and forth, then fell back. Her dark hair cascaded down her back like a gorgeous, but deathly waterfall. When Tony moved her, her arms dropped from her lap and hit something. Tony glanced down at the sound and tears came to his eyes. Right next to his knees were more empty bottles. Fear overtaking him, Tony's fingers flew to Ziva's neck searching for a pulse. He tried to control his shaking hands as he felt the pulse of his lovely Ziva start to slow beneath his fingertips.
Tony got control of himself as he put his arms behind her back and under her legs. He was surprised how light she was. Tony suspected that she had lost weight while being kept prisoner in Somalia, but did not expect her to be this light. Another scary thought came to his mind at the thought of her light weight. Could she not be eating either? What else has she done to herself? Tony held her tighter as he came out into the bright day and ran to his car. He put Ziva in the passenger seat and strapped her in. It was going to be a very wild ride to the hospital.
About halfway to the hospital, Tony grabbed his phone from the cup holder to call Gibbs.
Ring…Ring…Ring…Ri-
"Gibbs!"
"Boss! I've got Ziva and I'm taking her to the hospital. She's been drinking and I think she has alcohol poisoning!"
"Okay, Tony, okay. I'm gonna get another team to take over this. McGee and I will meet you at Bethesda in 10 minutes!"
The mustang screeched to a stop in front of the emergency entrance and many looked over in surprise. Tony jumped out and picked up Ziva. Her skin was growing cold and Tony screamed out for help. A couple doctors raced over in response and took Ziva away on a gurney. They were yelling orders to each other to book O.R.'s and to page special doctors. The second Tony heard O.R., Tony's worried mind took over. He immediately tried to push through to follow, but a doctor held him back.
"Please!" Tony begged, "Let me go in! She's my partner…my best friend!"
"Sir, sir, please, calm down. We are going to do everything that we can do to help her. But, we need you to calm down and fill out some paper work. Just some simple things like your name, her name, and why you brought her in. Okay?" asked the doctor. He was tall and dressed in dark blue scrubs and a white coat unlike the other doctors just in light blue. His dark hair was dusted with salt and pepper showing his experience, and growing age.
Tony still seemed anxious, so the doctor put a strong, steady hand on his shoulder and led Tony into the hospital. He had Tony sit down in one of the brown chairs and take the clipboard with the forms.
"It's going to be alright, sir. We have to pump her stomach, but the minute she's out of surgery, I'll come out to tell you. You can be the first one to see her…?"
"Agent DiNozzo, Anthony DiNozzo," Tony finished softly. The doctor nodded and went off to surgery, leaving Tony with a sick feeling of guilt and fear in the pit of his stomach.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It was only 8 minutes later that Gibbs and McGee arrived. Gibbs must have driven, Tony thought. With them was Abby, whose long, black pig-tails were whipping around as she spun in circles in search of Tony. Her gaze finally fell on Tony, who was now standing to get their attention, and she ran over to him. Gibbs and McGee followed close behind as Abby captured her friend in a tight hug.
"Oh my God, Tony! I can't believe this! How could we not know!? Is she going to be alright?!" Abby shouted loudly. Patients and nurses looked over and Tony hushed her. He patted her on the back as she let out a big sigh.
"Ditto, Abs, ditto on that…"
McGee finally got her to sit down and Tony went over to talk to Gibbs, who was leaning against the wall. "Gibbs, I-", Tony started, but Gibbs cut him off.
"None of us could have known, DiNozzo. Even after this summer, Ziva's still strong and didn't show any signs. She'll be fine, Tony. Like I said, Ziver's strong." His face was stern, yet caring. He seemed to sense how nervous his senior agent was and tried to assure him it would be alright. Tony nodded in agreement and went back over to Abby and McGee. He slouched down in the chair, sensing the harsh, bitter feeling of defeat creep upon him. There really wasn't anything he could do right now. All he could do was wait.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After 40 agonizing minutes, the doctor, Doctor Ying, came out to the team. He wore a false smile, seeming to try and calm them, but instead it made Tony's heart skip. What could have gone wrong? Was he too late when he arrived at her apartment? No…she couldn't be dead…could she? Finally Gibbs stood up and met Doctor Ying. Abby clutched Tim's hand as they spoke, and tried to lip read their conversation. Suddenly, Abby gasped as she read the Doctor's lips and Gibbs' face fell. Oh, God, something's wrong, Tony thought with dread.
"What's wrong, Abby? Is Ziva…dead?" McGee asked quietly. Tony felt bad for his good friend. His face was so pale, so young and frightened. He could only imagine what his face looked like if McGee's looked like that.
Tears welled up at Abby's eyes and her hands cupped in shock around her mouth. She stayed silent, making Tony and Tim turn to Gibbs who was walking over with Doctor Ying. Tony stood and McGee held Abby's forearms to help her stay steady. They all turned to their trusted leader, who just looked at Doctor Ying. He finally faced them and told them news that they did not expect at all…
U guys like? Hope you do. Please review! i want to see what you think is going to happen next. You now, a little guessing game! lol
PS- What happened to our beloved little green review box! I'm so sad! It's gone...huh...review anyway please! :)
