Okay, thank you soo much for catching my misspelling of 'Saeem'... in my defense, I thought it would be an I because the I in 'David' would make the same sound as the I in 'Salim'. But I guess I was wrong. I tried to change them all to Saleem, but if I missed one, I'm sorry :)

I have been getting so many reviews and I love all of you who review, and I reply to every single one of them. I especially would like detailed reviews that give me advice and criticisms because I know I'm not perfect and I like making improvements... for example, someone told me to add detail, so I worked on that.

The question I have for you guys in this chapter is, have I stayed in character and made this plausible? Or is it too fluffy? Not gonna lie, this is a cute chapter, but there's a fine line between cute and fluffy and I hope I haven't overstepped it.

For those of you who read the preview, it will most likely make more sense in context- it is halfway in the middle of this chapter.

*back to Tony pov*

With every minute, Ziva was becoming more aware of the embarrassment she caused herself by passing out. That's such an un-Ziva-like thing to do. Tony could see her discomfort, so he did his best to keep an eye on her as discreetly as possible. He knew Ziva didn't want to be watched over by the team or treated like she was something to protect. She was used to being the protector, the ninja. She's saved the asses of everyone on the team. Tony couldn't count the number of times she wrestled a suspect into handcuffs before he and McGee had a chance to do anything.

He knew not to push her, not to make her talk. He wasn't stupid. So, instead of taking the direct approach, he talked to her from a different angle- an analytical, detective-like one. As she sat at her desk across from his, her eyes focusing on nothing in particular, he struck up a conversation.

"So," he began, "who do you think could have made that website?"

"Any one of Saleem's cohorts. One of them could have gotten free with the footage. He is probably trying to complete what Saleem started- to kill me. There is no good approach to finding out who it is." She looked him in the eyes, talking as though she was just the investigator, not the target.

"So, why lead us on this wild goose chase?"

Before Ziva could think up an answer, Gibbs walked through, coffee in hand, eyes betraying the usual 'you mess with my team, i kick your ass' anger. "Grab your gear. We have a fix on the laptop that uploaded the pictures to that website."

Ziva and Tony reached for their stuff. "Not you two. If they're trying to kill you, Ziva, I'm not bringing you to them."

"Gibbs, I can take care of myself," Ziva protested.

"No. Tony, drive her home. Stay there until we get back. No questions," Gibbs commanded. "Don't take her home in case it's a trap, just let her borrow something of yours to sleep in."

There was nothing more they could say.

Ten minutes later, Gibbs and McGee were gone with some other agents to the forest where the laptop was being used and Tony and Ziva were in the car. It was a quiet drive to begin with. He kept his hands on the wheel, his eyes looking forwards, but only half his mind on the task at hand- the other half concerned with the safety of the ninja chick beside him. Tony didn't want to mention how worried he was and Ziva didn't want to admit that she was worried, too. Eventually, she broke the silence.

"I am sorry you had to see those pictures."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. In a way, I…" He stopped himself before he said he was glad to have seen then because it helped him understand what she had been through.

"You what, Tony?"

"Nothing. I'm just glad it's over."

"That it not what you were going to say, is it?" She could always read him like a book.

What could he say? As genuinely as he meant it, there was no way to say it without making it sound like, 'I'm glad I could invade your privacy' or 'I'm glad I saw you at your weakest'. That's how it would come across to Ziva. He figured he may as well bite the bullet and say something else he had been thinking to distract her from this thought.

"In a way, I needed to see what I had done to you. It was my fault you were there. I'm amazed you even trust me, after what I did to you."

They arrived at Tony's apartment in silence and walked into it the same way. It wasn't until they had locked the doors that Ziva took Tony by the hand and led him to the couch, where the two sat, angled to that they were almost facing each other.

"Don't you ever say that again, Tony!" Ziva suddenly exclaimed, anger and frustration in her eyes. "Don't you ever blame yourself. You saved me. You saved my life, and I will forever owe you. I had a long time to think in that cell in Somalia and I know what happened was not your fault. You and Michael, that was not on purpose. You had no way of knowing." At this point, she was showing more emotion than she had in awhile- her eyes were blazing, her voice wavering slightly with anger and sadness, wringing her hands as she spoke.

Tony couldn't look at her, so he looked at the carpet. "I knew something was wrong in June when you first left. I knew something was wrong in July. In August. I waited for you to die before I took any action. I let you go! And by some miracle, I got to see you again- some incredible miracle- but it came with a price. I knew it was bad, but today I got to see exactly what all the waiting did to you. I let you die before I came for you." Every word he said, he meant. This wasn't some cop-out, he was speaking from his heart. The eyes of a guilty man looked over to her, scanning her face for a hint of a response.

"Just stop it." Without another word, Ziva stood up and walked off. Tony didn't follow her. He just sat, wishing last summer never happened. The scars she must have… the scars I let him give to her. And here she is, surviving. No thanks to me!

He put his head in his hands and left it there, mentally kicking himself. He could hear her open his closet to, most likely, find something suitable to wear to bed. A few minutes passed, then Tony heard a small noise from the next room. He got up and followed it.

"Ziva?" he called, approaching his bedroom. He opened the door and looked inside. There Ziva was. She wore an old button-up shirt of his, unbuttoned, with her cami on underneath and what looked like a pair of his boxer shorts, rolled up at the waist to serve as pyjama shorts. She had her legs pulled to her chest as she sat on his bed in front of his laptop computer. Her face was turned away from him, hidden by her hair, and he could see past her what was on the screen.

Concerned, he walked over and put an arm around her. She flinched, but then relaxed. The scent of vanilla from her hair filled his nose. Tony joined her on the bed, looking at the haunting slideshow of images he knew Ziva wouldn't want anyone else to see. The sound he heard was her crying- softly and only just enough for him to hear. She curled closer to him as the two watched the pictures flash on the screen. She looked so small, so vulnerable, drowning in a too-big shirt and leaning her head on his chest. He knew her walls weren't down, but he was somehow inside- just the two of them, the only people in the world who could see what Ziva kept hidden. Even after the pictures stopped flashing and the laptop screen went dark, there they stayed together. No one spoke. No one had to speak. Even though it was only eight o'clock at night, Ziva fell asleep. Tony picked her up, brought her to the top of the bed, and tucked her in.

I guess the most intimate moments need no intimacy at all.

He crept out of the room to check his phone. There were no missed calls. Tony found that strange because it had been over an hour since Gibbs and the team set off for their mission. But before he could get too deep into his thoughts, he heard a loud crash of glass and the banging of noisy footsteps, followed by the shattering screams of the last person he wanted to see hurt.

Ziva.

Please don't slaughter me for the cliffhanger! I just had to! But I'll tell you this much... I'm not typically a tragic ending person.

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