Hello, thank you so much for your reviews on the last chapter. Thanks to Wren for betaing. This is not the end of this story but it is all I have written thus far, so ideas would be much appreciated. Enjoy! Chapter 4
Walking into her apartment, Ziva headed straight to the couch and sat down. "Have a seat." She offered Tony.
"We should really change your bandage." Tony held up the bag of medical supplies that the hospital had provided.
Ziva huffed and got back to her feet. She walked by him, grabbing the bag before he could react and walked into the bathroom. She shut the door.
"Ziva, let me help." Tony called, as he reopened the door following her in.
Ziva sighed when she realized he wasn't going to leave. Slipping out of the sling, she started taking off her shirt when she felt Tony's hands begin to ease her injured arm out.
Though normally seeing his partner's bare torso up close would please him, Tony was shocked by the bruises and scars littering her olive skin. A few of them he had seen while they were undercover, but many of them were new. "What happened to you?" Tony whispered as Ziva ripped the old bandage off her arm without wincing.
"Hazards of my profession."
"Some of these are new Ziva, why didn't we know you were injured?"
"It was unimportant. If the injury had affected my ability to do my job then I would have told you."
"How'd you get them Ziva? When?"
Ziva looked at him closely. When she realized that he was not going to drop the subject, she took a breath and began to explain. "When I went home the few times this past year, my father sent me out on assignments. Some went better than others. Like I told you earlier. I have had worse. At Mossad we are told to work through it."
"Didn't your father file a report of your injuries for Gibbs and Jenny?"
Ziva gave a short humorless laugh. "My father's only concern is that the job gets done. He does not care about the cost. We do not file injury reports." She waited for Tony's response but when none came she huffed irritably. "So can we change this bandage?"
"Yeah...sorry." Tony robotically started unwrapping the first aid supplies, Ziva's words still echoing in his head. He hadn't failed to notice the hurt look in her eyes as she discussed her father. As he cleaned her wound and dressed it with a fresh bandage, Tony silently vowed to protect her and not give her a reason to have sadness in her eyes anymore.
"Is this the only movie you've got?" Tony asked, holding up a copy of The Sound of Music.
"Yes. And I like it." She walked past him, grabbing the movie from his hand.
"How can you only have one movie?" Confusion was present in Tony's voice as he watched her set the DVD back on the shelf.
"Tony, look around, do you see a TV?" Ziva snapped.
Tony spun in a slow circle, looking around the small, but neat apartment. "That's what was missing! I knew something was off. Why don't you have a TV?" He spotted a bookshelf on the far side of the room. "Oh my God, you're like McGeek!" He slid a heavy leather bound book from the shelf.
Ziva growled and snatched the book from his hand, putting it back in its rightful place. "Will you just stop! Look, I did not come to America to learn about pop culture or spend my time planted in front of a television." She stalked over to the couch and dropped down upon it heavily. "Life is not about constant stimulation and mindless entertainment Tony."
Tony watched her closely, taking in this new side of Ziva that he hadn't seen in the past. "What is it about Ziva? And for that matter, why did you come here?"
"Life is about taking care of the ones that are close to you, doing all you can to make this world a better place before you die. And as for your second question, does it really matter Tony?" Her voice was soft as she lowered her eyes away from his emerald gaze.
"Yeah Ziva, it does." He walked over and sat beside her. "Do you really think that little of yourself? That your reason for being here doesn't matter? Cause you said it yourself Ziva, it's about making a difference."
"Am I? Am I really making a difference here Tony? Does anything really matter?" She got up and crossed to the other side of the room, leaning against the wall, she shoved her free hand into her pocket. "You saw what happened with the Cape Fear. And now Gibbs is gone…What difference have we made?" She demanded.
Tony paused, looking at the woman before him. Though her posture was guarded, the anguish written across her face was as clear as the day. "We do make a difference Ziva. You do make a difference. Two bad guys are off the street today because of you. Isn't that something worth fighting for?"
Ziva looked up, meeting his eyes again. She sighed as he stood up and crossed the room to her.
"Come on." He lay a gentle hand on her arm. "I have my laptop. Let's watch Julie Andrews and the singing nuns."
Thank you all for reading, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and I'll give you a sneak peak of the next chapter once I write it lol. If you want, give me ideas for the rest of the story; that will ensure I write faster ;-P