Pain. Sharp, burning, immeasurable pain.

Ziva's vision flickered like a dying light bulb as she struggled to stay conscious. Suddenly a familiar voice broke through the curtain of pain, and she felt pressure on the bullet wound in her chest.

"Stay with me Zi. You're gonna be fine, McGee's called 911. Zi? Come on, stay with me, dammit!" Tony's voice was filled with fear. Ziva tried to answer, but she didn't have the strength to speak.

What happened? What had gone wrong?

She remembered running after the man who had thrown the knife at Tony, chasing him into a dead-end alley. She had entered carefully, gun pointed in front of her, but the alley was dark and she was unable to see the man with all of the shadows.

"NCIS!" she had yelled. "Come out with your hands in the air!" When she got no response, she had cautiously stepped further into the alley, still trying to locate the man. She had gotten halfway in when a sharp pain exploded from the back of her skull. While the blow had not been enough to knock her unconscious, it was serious enough to completely disorient her and to drop her to the ground. The man had stepped out from his hiding place, an ice-cold look glinting in his black eyes. She couldn't see much else of his face- he wore a ski mask. He also wore dark clothes, explaining why he had been able to hide so easily. She could see his mouth, however, and his lips were pulled back into a feral smile as he bent over her.

"Eli was right." he said in Hebrew. "You should never have left Mossad. NCIS and America have made you weak."

Eli? Her father? Ziva struggled to comprehend what the man had said, but it was difficult to concentrate with the blow she'd received. Why would her father send someone here to get her? And why would he have them attack her?It didn't matter now. She had to stop him. Ziva had lifted her gun, but before she had raised it an inch, the attacker's hand shot out and grasped her wrist in an iron grip. With his other hand he removed the gun from her hand, and then yanked her arm out straight, and slammed the hand holding the gun on her forearm, breaking the bone. She had yelped in pain, but stopped when she felt the barrel of her gun press against the side of her head.

"What do you want?" she whispered in Hebrew.

"Me?" he responded. "I want to gloat. Your father? He wants you back and working for Mossad again. After this, though, seeing how soft you've gotten, he may not care to have you back."

"It doesn't matter." she spat through gritted teeth. "I'm an American citizen now, and a NCIS agent. I don't work for Mossad anymore, and Eli David is dead to me."

Her assailant drew back with a growl, and before she could do anything, he kicked her hard in the side, breaking several ribs. She hissed with pain, but refused to scream. He then raised her gun and pointed it at her chest.

"Goodbye, Ziva David." The gun flashed, and a white-hot pain ripped through her chest. He glared at her one more time, spat on her face, and then turned and disappeared into a doorway. Throughout the entire time his face had remained hidden.

The wail of an ambulance siren shattered her thoughts. Tony leaned over her, concern written all over his face. He was no longer putting pressure on her wound, Gibbs was doing that instead, but now he held her hand in both of his.

"They're almost here, Zi. Hang in there; you're going to make it! You have to make it, Ziva!" Ziva quickly gathered the remainder of her strength and managed to get her voice working again.

"Tony." He looked at her, green eyes soft.

"Save your strength Zi."

"No… my face… he spat… wipe my face… DNA… Mossad!" Her head dropped back to the ground and her vision started to go dark. Faintly she felt Tony wiping her face with his handkerchief, and she could hear the paramedic's voices as they approached. With the last of her strength she squeezed his hand and looked at him with her failing vision.

"Tony… I… love… you…" His eyes widened for a second, and then she just barely saw tears running down his strong face. He raised her hand to his lips and softly kissed it.

"I love you too Zi. That's why you can't die, you hear? I love you too much to let you die! Zi? Stay with me! I love you…"

But Ziva had already slipped into darkness.

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Just when you thought I couldn't make it any darker... but at least they both said 'I love you'! So for all those reviews asking me to have Ziva say that, there ya go.

Yeah, sure you becha!