Thank you so much to the reviewers. Your reviews really keep me motivated. It's great to know that you're enjoying this. Writing this fic is helping my sanity immensely while we wait for what seems like forever until season 7! Anyways, here's the latest chapter. Let me know your thoughts.

CHAPTER 3 – As Strong as You Are

"I will talk," Ziva had said and as she said it she felt an immense sense of shame. Shame at betraying her country, Mossad, and, her father. Shame at betraying America, NCIS and Gibbs who had taught her how to be an investigator. It was a sense of shame that outstripped everything else that she was feeling at that time. The decision to talk had been so much easier to make in her head while she was being abused and violated but now that it was a reality, Ziva felt like the traitor that she was about to become.

"Amir," Hashim shouted out. "The bitch will talk." Ziva heard another man's villainous laughter and heavy footsteps as he approached.

"I knew you would break eventually," he said to her tauntingly, in Arabic. "Although, it has taken you longer than I expected. You are a difficult one. Your father's daughter." Ziva forced herself to lift her head as he approached her. Her eyes blurred as she tried to make out his face, despite her concussion, in the dimly lit room. At first she could have sworn that it was the face of her father, which slowly morphed into Ari as he came closer before changing to that of Rivkin and then Gibbs and then… Ziva gave a sharp intake of breath as she thought she saw Tony standing in front of her. As he bent down and she saw his blackened teeth, his sinister grin, his eyes full of hate, and so unlike Tony's, Ziva knew that she could not betray all that she had ever cared about to satisfy this evil man and his terror organization.

"Well," Amir said, leaning even closer to Ziva, his hot breath repugnant against her face. "I am waiting."

"I have nothing to say to you," Ziva replied through gritted teeth, preparing herself for the next onslaught.

"Director," Gibbs said into the phone as he, Tony and the rest of the NCIS team were being airlifted to the USS Lincoln. He had Vance on speakerphone for Tony's benefit.

"There has been a development," Vance announced. "If the situation was not so serious you would be meeting with a Mossad officer but they need all hands on deck."

"What's happened?" Tony asked with great urgency in his voice.

"It looks like they've zeroed in on the terror cell's headquarters," Vance replied, giving him the location. "The closer that the Mossad officers have got to the zone, the more resistance they have encountered. This cell has men fighting to the death to protect whoever is in this building."

"What do you want us to do?" Gibbs asked.

"The Somalian government has been of no assistance," Vance announced. "They deny that they are harbouring terrorists. Marines have been sent into the zone. When they have finished fighting I want your team in there to assess the situation." Vance ended the call.

"We have a change of plan," Gibbs said to the helicopter pilot. He gave the pilot the coordinates just outside of where the terror cell was believed to be situated.

"Boss," Tony said, concerned. "We're not Marines. Don't you think that Vance would-?"

"If you don't want to go in there, Dinozzo-" Gibbs started.

"Oh I'm going in there," Tony answered, more determined than Gibbs had heard him in a long time.

"I know that they have Ziva," Gibbs said quietly.

"How?" One of the other agents asked as the helicopter began its descent.

"My gut," Gibbs replied, pulling out his gun.

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As Gibbs, Dinozzo and two other agents (the rest had chosen to stay on the helicopter) made their way through the dusty, sweltering conditions to the zone which they had been told about, an eerie feeling swept over them. It was quiet. Too quiet for the kind of activity which Vance had insisted was taking place. As they emerged closer to a building which simply looked like an abandoned warehouse, commonplace enough to be overlooked by unsuspecting passers by, they saw the first bodies. Whatever battle that had been taking place was over now.

Gibbs swallowed heavily as he saw the body of a marine, sprayed with bullets, lying lifeless on the ground. Ahead of him, seven bodies, of men and women, clothed in tan uniforms, presumably Mossad officers, lay sprawled at different distances from the building. As they crept even closer, more bodies were visible. The bodies were of North African men, matching the description of those who were members of the terror cell.

"I have a really bad feeling about this, boss," Tony whispered. Gibbs ignored him, not wanting to admit that he had the same feeling.

"I'm going in," Gibbs said to the others. Bravely, he took a step inside the dark, hot building and the others followed suit.

They crept through the cramped hallways, still hearing no sign of life, until they found themselves in the only lit room. There, they saw her.

Gibbs and Tony didn't need to see her face to know that the woman slumped in the chair was Ziva. There was another man strapped to a chair who was dead, and there were three lifeless bodies on the floor. Ziva appeared to be moving ever so slightly but both Gibbs and Tony weren't sure if she was alive or if they were willing themselves to see her moving.

"Ziva!" Tony shouted as they ran towards her. "Oh God!"

Ziva lifted her head slightly. Tony? She thought. Once again her mind was playing cruel tricks on her. It couldn't possibly be him.

"She's been shot!" Tony shouted to Gibbs who ripped off his jacket and pressed it against Ziva's left shoulder where she was bleeding profusely. Tony brushed Ziva's hair out of her eyes with his hand and felt sick to his stomach when he saw the bruises on her face. He felt rage course through his veins like he had never felt before. He focussed on cutting Ziva free of her restraints while Gibbs pulled a water bottle from his pack and held it to Ziva's lips. She gratefully accepted, unable to remember if she had had anything to drink in all the time that she had been held prisoner.

When Tony had freed her of the restraints, Gibbs pulled Ziva from the chair and into his arms, pulling her close to him, overwhelmed with relief that she was alive.

"You're safe now," he promised her, as she slipped back into unconsciousness, having never been more serious about anything in his life.

Tony went to the man closest to Ziva, who was lying dead on the ground and kicked his head as hard as he could, wishing that the man could feel the pain being inflicted on him. Tony wanted him to suffer for the unforgiveable damage that he had inflicted on Ziva.

"Dinozzo!" Gibbs hushed him, only because he could hear people approaching. Gibbs placed Ziva gently on the ground and they drew their guns and pointed them at the doorway, waiting while their hearts pounded nervously. Suddenly the room was full of people.

"NCIS!" they screamed.

"US Marines!" the men and women who entered the room screamed back at them. Gibbs and Tony breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"One of our agents is down," Gibbs shouted at them. "We need to get her to a hospital." Before they could respond, Gibbs scooped unconscious Ziva up in his arms and ran with her, Tony alongside them, where they met two marines with a stretcher outside.

Ziva was placed on the stretcher and carried quickly to a waiting helicopter which had dropped off the Marines that they had confronted moments earlier. Gibbs and Tony climbed into the helicopter.

"We'll take her back to the USS Lincoln," one of the marines said to them as another marine radioed ahead and another marine worked on stabilizing Ziva. "We have a trauma surgeon on stand by." The marine saw the concern on Gibbs and Tony's faces. "She's the best trauma surgeon you could ask for," he said reassuringly. "Your agent couldn't be in better hands."

As if knowing that they were talking about her, Ziva suddenly stirred out of unconsciousness. She could barely see out of her swollen eyes and her shoulder felt as though it was on fire but she could hear familiar voices.

"Gibbs?" She moaned, wanting to believe that it was him. She forced her eyes open further and saw his familiar blue eyes, worried and staring back at her.

"Ziva," Gibbs said, leaning over her and comfortingly running his fingers through her hair. "We have you now. You're safe. It's all over."

"What the hell happened to her?" Tony asked.

"It looks like she was held captive for some time," one of the marines answered. "When they realized that they had been compromised they took their own lives. They didn't have much warning so it was all done in a panic. It looks like they've tried to shoot your agent in the heart but they've missed." Ziva nodded slightly, as if to confirm that's what had taken place.

"Bastards," Tony said through gritted teeth, seething with anger.

"Tony?" Ziva asked, sounding unsure. Still semi-conscious, she didn't know what she was hallucinating and what was real. She strained her neck to see if Tony really was there, causing her shoulder to feel as though it was being ripped in half. She cried out in pain.

"Ziva!" Tony said, rushing to her side. Ziva's breathing was rapid as the pain pulsated through her whole body. She still couldn't see him. Instead she reached out his hand and Tony took it.

"Ziva, I'm here," Tony said, his voice chocking with emotion. "Just hold on. We're almost there."