Haha! I finally finished this chapter! Haha! I decided to give you guys an extra treat, since I still feel bad from not reviewing, AND I got five more reviews and tons of alerts! You guys rock! It made my whole day! :) I've got to get to bed, considering my mom's waking up soon, and I have to finish this before she finds out. There is lot's of Ziva/Tony and a father/daughter relationship between Ziva and Gibbs. And I must warn you this fic is coming to an end (yes already, but I promise a sequel). I think there's going to be a total of about six through eight total chapters. Thank you! Buon divertimento! ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize ;)

Characters are very AU (especially in this chapter)

~Bandit

Hunted

Burning Embers

Chapter 3

She felt her breathing slow down as she stood in front of the NCIS building. The one place she was safe. She closed her eyes in relief. She fingered the gun she held and glanced back at the large, glossy, black SUV waiting for her to go into the building. She took a deep breath, pulled a strange of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. She pocketed the gun and took another deep breath before stepping into the elevator. She felt her stomach drop and she fell to her knees as a sudden, horrible wave of nausea passed of her. She curled up in a ball in the side of the elevator as the ride made her head swim with pain and the horrible pain in her sides return. She barely heard the ding of the elevator through the ringing echoing in her ears.

"Ziva?" her head snapped up at the familiar tone, not expecting someone to talk, and causing her head to pound even more from the sudden movement. "Whatcha doin' on the floor?" Tony raised an eyebrow at her as he demanded explanation.

Ziva rubbed her head as she cursed at Tony in Hebrew, "I was just… praying," she winced right after she said it, knowing that Tony wouldn't believe it.

His smirk confirmed her suspicions. "You know, David, you are the worst liar I've ever seen," he continued to smirk as he gestured for her to come forward.

She instead grabbed the collar of his shirt and pressed him against the wall, holding a knife she'd found in her pocket up against his neck, "You tell anyone, DiNozzo, and I will not even hesitate to kill you," she whispered in the most menacing and threatening way she could, what with all the pain she was experiencing and her terribly sore throat.

Tony chuckled, expecting Gibbs to come from MTAC and pry the agent of him, but no one came to his rescue. His smile faded and he looked into the shining fire full of pain and anger that filled Ziva's soft, brown eyes. He could understand where the anger came from; he'd obviously interrupted her from something very important. But he had yet to figure out where the deep, sorrowful pain was coming from. The way her eyes darted up and his face, as she waited for him to say something clearly suggested that there was nervousness behind the deep mask she'd created. Her ragged breathing clearly showed she was in pain, though not the pain Tony sensed from her.

He remembered the Gibbs had asked him yesterday at work. Yesterday. When even then he'd thought he felt more horrible then Ziva'd felt. Her eyes had lost there shine, her smile was lost among some deep thought and she'd worn a turtle-neck and a sweat-shirt, though it was summer, yet she still shivered. Even in one day, he could see traces of fatigue reflecting on her sullen face.

"Okay," he felt his urge to tease go away along with all hope he saw in her. She seemed almost hopeless. "I won't tell anyone," her gaze slightly softened as she considered if he was really telling the truth. "I swear."

"Thank you, Tony," she felt a sudden wave of gratitude and trust rush towards the person she held against the wall. She tucked the knife away in a secret compartment and backed away from him. He just peered at her, in a sort of protective way. He then gestured for her to step out of the elevator before him again, though this time he wasn't mocking her. She flashed a half-smile at him before leaving, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear again.

Tony walked out after her, a smile dancing on his lips as well. He'd thought he'd saw trust in her eyes, though he figured it couldn't be true. Never before had Ziva really shown any trust in him. His eyebrows knit in concern as she leaned against the wall as she walked, obviously heavily relying on it to keep her up. 'She probably just sprained an ankle earlier, DiNozzo, stop thinking about the elevator,' he told himself. 'But I didn't see her limping…' he smirked as he found himself arguing with himself. 'Oh great. Next I'll start seeing things.'

He noticed something was wrong when she collapsed against the wall, and with an unknown burst of energy, he was at her side before she even touched the floor.

"Tony," Ziva's eyes seemed to begging him. Pleading him for something. 'Another question unanswered,' his thoughts raced through his head in a frenzy of urgency.

He grabbed her in a hug-like position, his hand gripped protectively on her arm, he noticed her take a deep intake of breath as he did this, but did not stop, and wrapped his other arm around her sides. She left out a small, painful, pleading sound of protest at this. He raised his eyebrows at her, but didn't ask her anything, and instead shifted his arm so it was around her waist instead. He lifted her off the ground, and in a sudden moment, where her head rested on his shoulder, he breathed deeply, a warm feeling spread through him, and he wanted to never stop, he wanted to hold her against him forever, but he remembered the circumstances, and placed her gently on her feet, holding her for a second.

Their eyes met and she smiled a true smile this time, one that was not overcome with pain, in a reassuring way, to let him know that she was okay and could support herself fine this time. But Tony didn't let go. He didn't want to. He could see Ziva's eyes flash with annoyance at his actions, he was ready to apologize, but decided he didn't want to. He didn't care if she didn't enjoy this. He did.

"Let Ziva go, DiNozzo," Gibbs came striding in from MTAC, another steaming cup of coffee grasped in his hands, he took the thick stack of papers he was holding and promptly smacked the back of his head with it, without any hesitation of any sort.

Tony was shook from his state and let go her, wondering what was going on with him and how he couldn't let it happen again. He watched her with protective eyes as she staggered to her desk in the most demeaning way. "Sorry, Boss," he sat in his desk chair, this time spinning it around on purpose, when his eyes fell upon the empty desk across the way, "Where's Probie, Boss?"

"He woke up late, and is stuck in traffic," Gibbs sighed, clearly showing that he wasn't happy at all. He disappeared as Tony turned to him to say something.

Ziva glanced at Tony as she pulled out a couple of documents, her eyes flashing with gratefulness. "Don't mention it, David," he whispered in reply, "Let's just forget it, 'kay? It'd sure make me feel a lot better," Ziva nodded, and bowed her head to continue her work.

Their attention was directed to the elevator, where a "Sorry, Boss!" was heard as McGee stepped from the elevator, running straight into Gibbs, causing his coffee to spill all over him. Ziva and Tony found themselves both laughing.

"Now, Mr. O'Morrow, I understand you murdered Petty Officer Julia Cooper," Ziva sneered at the dirty, unsanitary man sitting before her as she circled around him, like a lion considering the best way to kill his prey.

"I didn't kill nobody, ma'am," he shook at her terrifying act, but his gaze stayed locked on window ahead of him as he addressed her.

"Sure you didn't," Ziva pulled out the same knife she'd threatened Tony with that morning and started polishing it with a spare piece of cloth.

McGee, Gibbs, and Tony exchanged looks inside the window. She sure was doing a good job. Tony was surprised of the energy boost she'd gotten since her state that morning.

"I s-swear I didn't, m-ma'am. I wouldn't kill n-nobody," O'Morrow replied, a stammer emerging from his lips.

"Did you know Miss Cooper?" Ziva replied coolly, checking her reflection in the metal blade.

"N-no ma'am," he broke his gaze and his green eyes darted around the interrogation room as she continued to circle him, the knife shining brilliantly.

"But you killed her," Ziva persisted.

"M-ma'am, I t-told you, I wouldn't k-kill nobody. Especially not J-Julia," his eyes followed the sharp blade nervously.

"So you did know her. Why did you lie to me, Mr. O'Morrow?" Ziva closed her eyes in a flash as another way of nausea passed over her. She dropped the knife in pain, bent over coughing, and rushed out of the room.

"Ziva!" Tony called softly, his voice dripping with concern, from inside the window. Gibbs strode out of the room as Paul O'Morrow started towards the knife.

"DiNozzo, find her, McGee, stay here," Gibbs called, in a firm voice. The two exchanged concerned glances before he also left the room, leaving the room in the hands of McGee.

She examined her reflection in the mirror. She had to admit she looked pretty terrible. She closed her eyes and slid underneath the sinks, feeling another strong urge to cry.

"Ziva?" she heard Tony's voice call her name, though she couldn't quite process her. She fought back more tears. Who was she? What had happened to her? Why couldn't she stand up for herself? "Ziva?" She didn't open her eyes, though she knew Tony'd found her, and she also knew he had no problem being in the girl's restroom. She felt his arms wrap around her as he persuaded her to come out.

"I can't go back," she whispered, her eyes still shut tight as she fought off the pain threatening to come back.

"We know who the kill is. After you left, Gibbs took over. We for sure know who it is now. Ziva, why don't you come out?" he continued in this way, his voice calm as concern washed over his body.

"Fine," she gave in. "Only if you tell Gibbs I got nervous and went to talk to Ducky," she stared into his eyes, her own reflecting the odd trust again.

"Okay," he replied, smiling brightly as he offered to help her up. She declined, much to his disappointment, and got up on her own, her breathing growing shallower. "Where are you going to go?"

"I'm not leaving the building, I swear," she chuckled in appreciation of his concern.

"Abby?" Ziva called over the loud music Abby was rocking out to, "Abby!" she walked up and shook the young Goth, her footsteps echoing over the lab.

"Oh, Ziva!" Abby smiled brightly, her red lipstick shining in from the lights of her many monitors, "Have you gotten O'Morrow to confess yet? Did Gibbs send you?"

"No to both, Abby, I'm not feeling all the great," even Ziva knew that was a major understatement to the way she felt. "I came here to rest."

"Did you see Ducky yet?" Abby's face flashed with concern, a look Ziva had grown tired of.

"Yeah, he told me to rest," Ziva lied with difficulty to her eccentric friend.

"Oh, well in the case…" Abby trailed off as she scurried around her lab, lowering the volume of her music, getting out Bert, a dark pillow, and a black sleeping bag. She set up a little area for Ziva in the corner of her lab. Ziva raised an eyebrow as Abby scampered around. "There!" Abby smiled proudly at her work and gestured for Ziva to lie down.

"Thank you so much, Abby," Ziva smiled and settled down in the sleeping bag, curling around her pillow.

"Any time, Ziva," she whispered back, continuing her work.

Ziva woke in a dimly lit dome, flowers surrounding her. She looked around, an alarmed expression on her face. She jumped up, and instantly regretted it, a new burning pain exploding through her body. She scanned, looking for a gun, but not finding any anywhere.

"Looking for this, babe?" she felt a sense of foreboding linger in the air, along with the distinct smell of beer and blood. She turned around, dreading what she would see. John stood, leaning casually against the wall, her gun in his grubby hands.

"Give it back!" she spat angrily, prepared to charge him. Another wave of hot pain washed over her body. Her knees buckled, but someone held her up.

"Don't touch her, you bastard!" she found Tony supporting her, his eyes set on John.

"Whatcha gonna do? Shoot me?" John mocked. It was then Ziva noticed that Tony didn't have a gun anywhere either. They were now doomed.

"I've considered it," Tony replied in his usual fashion. Ziva didn't like where this was going.

John trained the gun at the both of them. Ziva cried out, her eyes washing with tears as the bullet flashed through the air, hitting Tony directly in the chest. She felt her whole body go numb. "No…no!" She felt them both go down. "Tony!"

"I'll catch ya later, babe," Ziva turned at John her eyes filled with anger, her face pulled into a painful expression. A second later, he was gone.

She turned back to Tony, who breathed a pathetic moan. Her eyes filled with tears. She rested her head on his injured chest. His eyes were glazed over. "Ziva…" he took a shuttering breath, and he raised his hand to stroke her cheek, "I love you," he let it fall limply back at his side.

"Tony, don't do this to me!" She pleaded, stroking his cheek back.

"Tell everybody," he struggled for a breath again, "I say goodbye. Tell Abby not to cry. I don't want her to cry."

"Tony, she won't have to cry! Come on you can survive!" she searched her pockets, tears starting to blind her eyes, in a vain search for a cell phone.

"Ziva," he grabbed her attention back, "I won't make it. Don't tell yourself lies. Just…" he coughed blood as he tried to continue back. Sobs racked Ziva's body, and for once she couldn't notice the pain, "Move on." She rested her head on his chest again, and her sobs grew louder as his breathing stopped.

She was screaming. Screaming for him to come back. "No! Tony! Tony! You can't be dead! Please come back!" Ziva fell to her knees before the man, blood spurting from his chest. "No... Tony... come back. Y-you c-can't leave me with this b-bastard!" She felt tears fall from her eyes at her fallen partner. She sobbed for what seemed like hours.

"Ziva?" She heard Abby's voice in the distance. Oh no. What would she tell Abby? "Ziva are you alright?"

Ziva woke with a horrible start, and saw Abby's worried face peering through the tears blinding Ziva's vision. "Ziva?" She noticed she had trashed in her sleep, her sleeping bag totally disturbed.

"I'm sorry, Abby," Ziva took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.

"Why were you calling for Tony to come back?" Abby helped Ziva into a sitting position.

"I just had a nightmare," Ziva struggled from breath. She heard the doors to Abby's lab open, but Abby didn't seem to notice.

"Are you sure you're okay? You were sweating like crazy; I'd say your temperature was at least one hundred."

Ziva felt an overbearing wave of nausea coming over her, she felt her skin grow clammy and she bent over, un-raveling her legs from the sleeping bag. She noticed Gibbs had entered the room, and he quickly observed the scene, racing over to her, a trash can in his hand. He placed it under her. He gave Abby a questioning look, but Abby just shrugged, indicating she didn't know what was going on either.

They both watched, concern drowning their faces as Ziva puked into the trash can. Abby felt her eyebrows knit, while Gibbs bent next to the agent, rubbing her back. Ziva rocked back on her heels, wiping her mouth with her sleeve, her breathing short and uncontrolled. Gibbs pushed some hair back from her face in a caring way, his expression having remained somewhat calm during the whole thing, while Abby hugged her slightly, saying, "I think you need to take a sick leave, Ziva."

Ziva nodded wearily in agreement, and found herself in Gibbs' arms as the sharp shoots of pain steadily grew worse. She snuggled up against him, and he caressed Ziva's face as Abby called for Ducky to come down.

A/N: Oh man. I even felt sorry for Ziva just writing this! Tell me what you guys think! :) And a review wouldn't hurt, especially since it makes me incredibly happy ;) Thank you all. And because you all are so awesome, I reward you all with Caf-pow and another sneak peak of chapter 4! :)

He examined her face closely, as she cowered in the deep sheets of rain. He bent down as she shivered, trying the sleep. He picked her up, and carried her to his car. He felt waves of emotion cross his mind and he considered the many options of why she'd come back. He noticed her too familiar shallow breathing, and the soft noises she made as her head rested on his car window. She stirred, crying out. He caressed her cheek, bringing her from her nightmare. If only he could take her home with him. An idea popped into his head.

There it is ^_^ Some deep relationship there ;)

TotallyTiva: Aww :) That totally brightened my day. Thank you :) I hope you enjoy this chapter ;)

aquasm: Thank you! I try my best to be awesome(:

Zivancis: Thank you! :)

Chlollierockz: Haha thanks :) I don't like John much either :/ :D

Zoyarose: Thank you very much :) I hope this chapter lives up to my standards :) Hope you enjoyed this one ;)

THANK ALL OF YOU FOR READING! YOU ARE ALL AWESOME!

*Abby hugs for all of you* :)