Okay, I'm going to mess with the NCIS timeline a bit. "Broken Bird" happened after Jenny died, but I'm just going to take some liberties with that. Sorry this took so long to get out. Enjoy.

Part 4

"Please lock the door behind you, Doctor," Nigel instructed from his position at the conference table, briefly checking his watch. Ducky did as he was bid, juggling his bag into his left hand to secure the door. He glanced swiftly at Ziva, who was now leaned up against the back of Jenny's desk with her eyes closed. An "Oh, my," whispered from his lips and Ducky made to rush to the Israeli's side, when a cool voice stopped him.

"Doctor Mallard, you will care for my wound first and then you may attend to Officer David." With one more glance in Ziva's direction, Ducky found the offer reasonable considering the switch that Nigel was holding. He warily stepped to the conference table, where Nigel lifted up his shirt and clawed at make-shift bandages to reveal a deep puncture wound in his side, the wound still weeping blood.

Not normally a man of violence, Ducky found himself oddly pleased that Ziva had at least given this man some blows, although it was nothing compared to what he had done to her. He quickly banished these thoughts from his mind and moved his spectacles up on his nose before opening his medical bag to begin his work.

"It's been awhile since I've had a live patient to work on. This is going to sting," Ducky said as he wiped away blood and pus with antiseptic. He noted that the man barely flinched.

"I am quite aware of your profession, Doctor Mallard, but I'm sure I'm in more than capable hands." With a smug smile, Nigel made sure to make eye contact with Ducky before speaking again. "After all, a minor knife wound should be nothing for a man who patched up torture victims for years in Afghanistan."

Silence reigned as Ducky's hands stilled for moment before resuming their task. He had no response, so he continued to patch the man up. The cut looked more painful than life-threatening, so Ducky quickly stitched the edges of the wound together. He expertly wiped away the excess blood and applied a sterile bandage to Nigel's side, taping down only two sides to let the wound breathe.

"Now, may I attend to Ziva?"

Nigel lowered his shirt back down over the bandage. "You may. But I want my bullet back." Ducky blanched slightly; he was not really equipped to be doing minor surgery in the middle of the Director's office. "I can't be leaving my calling card just anywhere, now can I?" Nigel asked rhetorically. When Ducky still hesitated, Nigel's eyes and face hardened, but his voice remained calm. "Do it now or I will put a bullet in each of these young agents." He glanced over at the three young men sitting along the wall next to the Director. Agent Smith was white as a ghost.

Reluctantly, Ducky grasped his bag and moved to Ziva's side. She was slumped against the desk, semi-conscious. From the looks of her face, she probably had a concussion along with a broken cheekbone, if not a broken nose as well. Ducky's expert eyes took in the unnatural angle of her arm and decided it was broken in at least one place. Secured behind the desk-post as it was, he would be unable to do anything about it in the near future. He skimmed over the bomb vest, knowing nothing more than it didn't bode well for any of them if Nigel decided to release the trigger in his hand. Finally, he took in the crude bandages around Ziva's right thigh. A glance at Cynthia's blood-covered hands, it was clear she had administered first-aid as best she could, but some blood had soaked through.

Ducky set his medical bag down and knelt down to position himself over Ziva's leg. With one final glare in Nigel's direction, to which the man just shrugged, Ducky began to remove the make-shift bandages from Ziva's leg. "You did well, Cynthia. Now, if you are able, I'll enlist you as surgeon's assistant for the time being, if the Director doesn't have any objections, of course," Ducky said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Ducky, she's your assistant for as long as you need her. She's done splendid so far," Jenny said from nearby. Cynthia just shot him a slightly nervous glance, but nodded her assent anyway.

As soon as Ducky removed the soiled bandage, he had Cynthia hand him a set of scissors and began to gingerly cut away the edges of Ziva's pants to get better access to the wound. Ziva moaned in pain and opened her eyes. Spying Ducky, she smiled slightly and whispered his name.

"Ah, you're awake, my dear," Ducky said with his usual bedside manner and continued cutting away the cloth surrounding the bullet hole.

Semi-lucidly, Ziva gave a slight giggle, "You know, Ducky, you did not have to wait until I got shot to try to get into my pants."

Ducky looked up and smiled, glad to see her conscious and aware. "No worries, my dear, I am too much of a gentleman to take advantage of a beautiful woman in my care." Ziva just smiled. "I'm glad to see that your sense of humor is still intact; you are going to need it in the next few minutes."

The medical examiner reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol; he tapped out two of the pills. "I apologize that I have nothing stronger to give you," Ducky apologized. "My patients are generally beyond needing pain killers." At Ziva's confused look, Ducky continued to explain. "Nigel wants me to remove the bullet from your leg. He…he wants it back."

Ziva glared at Nigel and he waved his hand with the detonator in it; he was in control of the situation and they both knew it. "Do what you have to do."

Ducky's face was grim, as he addressed the Director's assistant, "Cynthia, if you would, hold her leg just above the knee and pass me the forceps from my bag." Ziva let out a hiss at the pressure on her leg. As the cold metal of Ducky's forceps penetrated the open wound, Ziva's whole body tensed and her face turned ashen. As the medical examiner began to dig for bullet, Ziva's hands clenched and she gritted her teeth. She'd be damned if she gave Nigel any sort of pleasure by crying out. She aimed a glare in his general direction and was met with cold eyes and a look of smug satisfaction.

The forceps clamped around the slug and with a twist Ducky began to maneuver it. "Harah," was all Ziva said before her body relaxed and she lost consciousness. A moment later, Ducky triumphantly held the bullet with his forceps. Setting the bullet aside, Ducky quickly sterilized the wound and bandaged it, not wanting Ziva to lose any more precious blood than she already had.

Ducky held the small slug between his thumb and forefinger, Ziva's blood marring the metal surface. With effort, he raised his aged body off the ground into a standing position. With a look of disgust, the doctor deposited the bullet in Nigel's now outstretched hand.

"Don't worry, Doctor Mallard, everything has its purpose," Nigel said, as he placed the slug in pocket. "Your services are no longer required. You may leave."

Ducky stood up straighter and stated firmly, "I will not. Ziva is now my responsibility and I will not abandon my duty."

Nigel took a long pull of air through his nostrils and had a long-suffering look on his face. "I suppose I should not have expected you to go." He glanced down at his watch. He turned towards Jenny. "In a sign of good faith, Director, I will release your secretary. Cynthia, you may go. Doctor Mallard, if you would lock the door behind her."

Cynthia glanced at the director briefly before quickly exiting the door. Ducky shut and locked it behind her. The doctor gingerly lowered himself to the floor next to Ziva to check on her condition; she was slowly regaining consciousness.

Several hours passed silently with Nigel checking the time every so often. After Nigel glanced at his watch for the fifth time, Jenny had decided she was done with sitting around doing nothing. It was time to try again to get information if she could. Conversationally, she said, "So, Nigel, what's the story between you and Officer David. You haven't hurt anyone else so far and despite your threats, you've let a potential hostage waltz out that door and done nothing else."

Nigel gave a mirthless chuckle. "Ah, Madame Director," he glanced at his watch. "We do have some time to kill, so I will humor you." He glanced over at Ziva, noting her eyes were open and lucid. "Officer David is merely a bonus to this whole operation. My employers did not specify how I was to gain control of NCIS, so I took some liberties. I wonder, has Ziva told you of the night we spent together?" Seeing the slightly shocked look on Jenny's face and Ziva's body stiffen, he continued. "I'll take that as a no. Well, I'm sure it was a much better night for me than it was for her." To Ziva, he added in a mockingly-disapproving tone, "You really should be more careful who you take drinks from, Officer David." He turned a charming smile back towards the Director, "And you, Madame Director, should get better security. I know your gate guards are Marines, but they really should be more careful who they let onto a Naval base, especially in these dangerous times of domestic terrorism."

Silence reigned throughout the room. Jenny kept glancing between Ziva and Nigel, trying to process what he'd revealed. For her part, Ziva just looked ashamed. Nigel's face wore a cocky smile and he advanced upon the defeated Ziva to kneel down next to her by her injured leg.

"So, to answer your question Director," Nigel said in a more serious tone, "What the story is between me and Ziva? She was a convenient means to an end and she has served her purpose well. Sadly, my employers want to minimize the loss of life on this operation, otherwise Officer David would already be dead." Nigel's eyes hardened to cold dead orbs. "They didn't say anything about causing pain." Before anyone could react, the bang of a discharging weapon was heard.

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