Many, many thanks to Special Agent Stace for beta reading this. It reads a lot smoother once you have corrected some of my sentences. If there are any more languages mistakes the fault is all mine. Enjoy and don't forget REVIEW. Many thx to the ones who reviewed the previous chapter it's much appreciated.

Running on Empty

Chapter 2

Ziva opened her eyes. She had woken to a noise, and noise usually meant more beatings. She looked around for a corner, where she would be protected from two sides. The only way Saleem or one of his men could get her was from the front- and she would see those lashes coming. Every single bone in her body protested when she moved, but she had been trained to defend herself her entire life, and she knew that more than the pain. But oh God, she was so tired.

Gibbs noticed the night nurse running past him and enter Ziva's room. He decided to follow, his heart broke when he saw Ziva asleep in the corner of the room, her arms around her chest and knees. The nurse, clearly oblivious to Ziva's history, attempted to wake her up and before Gibbs could warn her, Ziva had the nurse by the throat and was choking the life out of her. Gibbs moved fast and grabbed Ziva, preventing her from actually killing the nurse.

"Get out." He whispered to the nurse, who was trying to catch her breath.

"just get out, I'll deal with her."

"She tried to kill me!"

"Just get out!" Gibbs said again, through clenched teeth. "She doesn't know you."

The nurse left the room and Gibbs backed off, giving Ziva much needed space. After Gibbs saw that she had relaxed a little, he walked over to the nurses station.

"You ok ?"

The nurse nodded, looking frightened and confused.

"I'm Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS. She is my co-worker, Ziva David. You read her file ?"

"No, sir, not yet. I was about to when the alarm went off."

"You read, I'll wait"

Gibbs walked back to Ziva's room and saw that she had taken up position in the opposite corner, still trying to protect as much of her body as possible. The nurse touched his shoulder.

"Sir….she needs to get back into bed, she need the IV lines back into her system."

"I know that, but I don't want a repeat of what just happened." Gibbs leaned against the doorframe and frowned, but all of a sudden the nurse brightened.

"We could move the bed in the corner. It's against regulations, because doctors always need access to both sides of the bed, but I think in his case we could bend the rules a little bit."

Gibbs walked into the room and felt Ziva's eyes on him, they followed him everywhere. He moved the bed so that it occupied the corner where Ziva had been sleeping before the nurse had tried to wake her.

Gibbs got to his knees in front of Ziva.

"You can get into the bed. I've placed it in the corner for you. The IV line has to be put back into you arm. You need it. You are safe here, Ziva. You're home."

Gibbs could tell she was beginning to hear him. The fog was slowly beginning to lift from her eyes. After a minute she got up slowly, moved past him and got onto the bed. Gibbs motioned for the nurse to come and replace the IV. Just as the nurse was about to leave, Ziva reached out and grabbed her arm. Gibbs heard a hoarse voice that he wouldn't have been able to distinguish as Ziva's had he not seen her speak.

"Sorry"

After the nurse had left, Gibbs pulled up one the chairs and took a seat next to Ziva's bed. Gibbs watched her as she began to drift away again.

"It's okay, I'm here"

He felt her hand grabbing his just before she was completely asleep. This was the way the rest of the team found them.

Ziva would need extensive medical treatment, and the team was told that it would take some time.

Ziva never contacted the team during her recovery, wouldn't even allow the hospital staff to let them in when they visited. Several weeks passed without a word from her. This was her fight.

In the squad room, Tony and McGee were bickering about who was the most handsome one of the two when the elevator pinged and opened, revealing Ziva standing there. The two men were awestruck.

"Ziva" they said in unison.

Ziva walked out of the elevator and came to a standstill just before Tony and McGee. She looked even smaller than before. She had a slight limp, but if you had never met her before you wouldn't even notice it. She hadn't regained all of her weight, so her clothes were a little baggy. She still hadn't gotten used to the fact that her normal size clothes wouldn't fit her properly anymore.

"Actually, I find McGee to be the more handsome, nothing personal." She shrugged.

"Ziva, what are you doing here? Uh, not that we don't like having you back, but what made you come here?" McGee asked.

"I have a appointment with Director Vance"

All Tony could do was stare at his former partner, and she met his gaze every step of the way.

Ziva heard McGee mutter something along the lines of 'going to get the butter nutter' and take off.

Ziva sighed. It had been a tough day. Getting her head bitten of by Abby…..Vance saying she was 'damaged goods'. The last remark had stung, especially since it was truth- but God, he did not have to say it to her face. She knew what she was, she knew who she was, but mostly she knew what she wanted to be- and she all of it more than anyone else. Three months alone in a cell will do that to you. She wanted to be part of the NCIS family. The confrontation yesterday with Gibbs, and today with the rest of the team had been a great step forward. She was going to get there, even if it killed her. She smiled…even if it killed her. She had died, but had risen from her own ashes. And she wasn't about to let anyone to tell her otherwise.

She went and bought a plant to put on her desk, yes her desk. Vance had allowed her to fill that desk until her position with both Mossad and NCIS had been resolved. And a plant was appropriate for those house heating parties Americans loved. So why not a desk heating ? She loved the look on Tony and McGee's faces when she put the plant down and sat down at her desk. She had lots of paperwork to catch up with.

TBC…

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