And now, the answers to the questions they all have. At least some of them. And, in the course of all that, I had to reference one of the more fun moments from "Hiatus". I loved Tony's reaction to it all, because it is so DiNozzo. "Shake, hug, tongue." Yes, so him.

I do so love the relationship between Abby and Ziva. Abby is such a little sister to both of them and I know she'll love being Aunt Abby.

And I would like to thank everyone who commented on the last chapter. I had a lot of fun writing Leon's line and it does get referred back to several times. Please, keep the comments coming! I love hearing from you!

"Tony is not out of the trees, but I see the question you all want to ask," Ziva said, allowing them their curiosity.

"I believe the word you are looking for is 'woods', my dear," Ducky corrected her gently.

Ziva nodded again, offering him a shy smile. Then her eyes moved to each of them, waiting to see who broke first. No one did, to her surprise. So, it was up to her. "Tony did find me in Israel and he did try to get me to return. But, I did not feel it was right. I believed that we could not be together then," her eyes flicked to Gibbs at that, "and I felt I had brought too much pain to the rest of you."

"Before you go on, I have one question," Abby interrupted, stopping her train of thought. "And I only ask this because there's money riding on it."

Ziva noticed Tim's expression, the panic that was setting in on his features. "Abby, it's none of our business!" He looked back to her. "Really, it's none of our business."

Abby slapped him on the arm, hard enough that McGee winced. "McGee!" It seemed to silence him and she turned her attention back to Ziva. "Paris? I only ask because McGee got one story about who was on the couch and I got another."

It took the other woman a minute to figure out what the scientist was talking about. Then, she recalled the trip. "We shared a bed...but that was all."

Abby's face fell at the answer. "I was so sure of it! Especially now, with you…" She let out a frustrated grunt. "And I'm sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusion at the lab. It was just, you magically appeared and I seemed to have forgotten Tony being gone, which I never usually do, I usually keep a running count of how long any of you are away from the office."

"Well, at least you didn't slap me," Ziva said, trying to slow her down.

She saw the look on Gibbs' face, that bewildered expression that was two parts confusion and eight part annoyance, and remembered he would have had no idea what she was talking about until Abby explained. "It was when you were nearly blown up and we were all so worried about you, but I didn't think that Ziva was and I accused her of being an emotionless drone and slapped her and she slapped me. Then Tony found out because McGee witnessed it and he made us apologize and hug it out and then his mind, well, it took a Tony turn…"

Gibbs held his index finger up and brought it to her lips, shutting them. But Ziva was grateful to her friend, for breaking the silence.

It was Ducky who spoke up next. "I realize it may be premature to ask, but do you know what you are going to do next?"

"Right now, all I can think about is Tony. The doctor, he did not seem entirely sure of his condition. And that is all that is on my mind," Ziva replied.

"And the baby?" the doctor questioned further.

"My doctor in Tel Aviv has given no indication of any problems."

"Well, we will be there for you, no matter what, Ziva," Abby told her. Then she turned to McGee. "I will get you the money by next week."

"Abby," McGee said, almost in a whine. Then he turned his attention to Ziva. "When did you get back?"

"I have been back in the country less than twenty-four hours. When the plane landed, well, I went to DiNozzo's and saw him get home. But, I couldn't go see him, I got scared. It was too soon, I didn't know what I would say...so I went to Gibbs." She saw the eyes swing to him, but he remained as silent as always. "That was probably why he told you to go to the house to get me. I was asleep for a while, but then something woke me suddenly. Most likely due to the time difference." That was what she assumed. But looking back, it was as if the gunshots had woken her up as they were striking him. "And then I could not go back to sleep. At that point, I decided again to go talk to him, but Abby texted me, thinking I was still in Israel and I changed my mind, went to surprise her instead. From there, well, you can guess."

"So you were planning on tell Tony?" McGee asked.

She knew she should have been shocked or insulted by the question, but she wasn't. "Yes, I did intend to tell him, eventually. I was just trying to get up the nerve." Then, something broke in her as she thought about her words. Would she ever be able to tell him? She let out a sob and sunk to the ground.

She did her best to hide her face, tried to hide the tears that were falling. But the mask had slipped off completely, the one she of the emotionless assassin, always in control. She was fighting for that control when she felt a strong hand grip her shoulder. Opening her eyes, Ziva found Gibbs there. "It'll be alright. Tony's tough, you know that. He's taken a lot worse." She nodded her head, willing herself to believe it. Then she heard him say, "Abs, why don't you take her to get something to eat. We'll stay here for word."

"I'm not hungry," she protested.

Gibbs nailed her with that stare of his. "When was the last time you ate?" When she took a long time to answer, he ordered her, "At least something in you."

"Come on, Ziva. Let's see if we can find anything actually good here," the woman told her as she took her hand. "I'll even catch you up on what you missed." Abby asked for directions to the cafeteria, which they found a short time later. Despite the hour, there were some bowls of cereal and fruit, which Abby placed to the tray. She paid for them and they sat down. "So where to begin? Did you see Ellie in the bullpen?"

"Blond girl, right?" Ziva replied.

"Yep. NSA analyst. She came over when a scenario she wrote up actually happened. I think Gibbs said she had applied to NCIS before." Abby paused, thinking as she chewed. "Oh! Remember Diane, the ex-wife Gibbs and Fornell share?" Ziva nodded and a smile spread across her friend's face. "She's divorcing her Homeland hubby and is back with the FBI."

"Wait, what? What does that mean?" The word escape Ziva's mouth, but then it clicked. That was followed by a laugh. She understood Abby's implication at last. "How did Gibbs take it?" She couldn't imagine it had gone well.

"Well, it all started with him and Tony barging into a hotel room that she was in and then, from what Tony told me, Fornell came out with just a towel on. And it involved another guy she was seeing who she thought was just this buff dude, and I mean buff, but was actually Secret Service." Ziva could see the delight Abby was taking in relaying the story and just sat back, listening. They both knew it was a distraction, but they both needed it.

Abby chattered on for another twenty minutes when Gibbs appeared tableside. Ziva felt the pit open once more, but he held up his hand, and her anxiety died down. "They said you can go in to see him," was all that was spoken.

Ziva hurried to the unit, with Abby and Gibbs trailing. However, when she arrived there, she stopped dead in her tracks, fear overtaking her once more. She turned to the one man who she relied on for so much to help her once again. Gibbs nodded solemnly, rested his hand on her shoulder and led her through the door. The doctor was a few steps ahead of him as he pointed towards the room. Ziva saw Tony through the glass wall, still on the bed. She rushed in suddenly, inspecting him. Numerous tubes were connected to him, leads for monitors, so many more than she had ever seen. She willed herself not to cry as she sank in a chair next to the bed.

"Tony, it's me," she whispered to him. "I'm back. I've come home."