Chapter 7:

"Of all the stupid, irresponsible, reckless things to do!"

Oh for the love of God. Tony glowered at the wall, trying to ignore the ranting voice that was pacing back and forth. Tony was not entirely for sure who Gibbs was yelling at- either him or himself.

"Why are you mad again exactly?" he asked drily and one look from his mentor shut him up fast.

"Tell me exactly what happened." Gibbs commanded, icy eyes boring into him with extreme demand. Feeling annoyance at the fact he had no idea what was going on, Tony's voice came out sharp.

"For the last time, I was showing Lily around, and after we were done, she told me she had to go check into a hotel and drove away. What is the big deal?"

"Did you know about her and Archer?" Gibbs asked, pinning him with another stare that Tony decided he didn't like.

"What do you mean? Were they together? God damn it Gibbs! What is going on? You have not pulled me off this case, so why the Hell am I in the dark?" frustration was leaking into the man's system and for a moment all he wanted to do was break somebody's neck. When the other agent didn't answer his demand, he turned fully intending to find and pin McGee down until every single one of his questions were answered.

"How did Zohura die?"

Tony froze. Wafts of emotions and memories came over him. Heat and pain mixed with smell of rusted blood and desperation. Screams echoed somewhere inside of his head and he slowly turned to meet his Boss' eyes.

"What did you just ask me?"

"I know she's supposed to be dead Tony. Tell me how." Shock went through Tony's system of his words and for a moment, he sat in confusion, wondering how on Earth Gibbs could have known that.

"What else did Jake tell you?" he growled as two and two clicked with understanding. "What did he say?"

"Sit down, you're swaying."

"What did he say?" at the very last note, his voice changed from angry to defeated. Why would Jake even bring up Zohura? She had no connection to any of this. Like Gibbs said. She was dead.

"Shh… Shh…" Tony soothed as the sobbing became louder and louder and he looked over at Jake for help. The other man pushed his now chin length hair out of his face and frowned, looking at the little girl who was crying desperately in the corner of their prison.

"She's been like that for the last hour, what the Hell is wrong with her?" he snapped and Tony glared, attempting to calm the nine year old down.

"Zoe? Zoey…Tell me what's wrong." He begged and little dark hands began to dig into his skin as fat tears rolled down her face.

"It…It hurts!" she howled and Tony quickly covered her mouth before she could aggravate any of their torturers.

"Okay…Shh… Tell me what hurts." The marine tried and this time, the crying reduced to sniffles as Zohura pointed to her head and stomach.

"Head, shoulders, knees, and toes." She said pitifully, quoting the English song Tony had taught her weeks ago.

"Wow, that's a lot of stuff isn't it…Whoa there!" He yelped as she stumbled back weakly, falling into his arms. He looked at her critically, trying to compare her to what he remembered to be healthier looking people.

She was skinny… Bones clearly defined and able to count. Her whole body shook slightly and her lips and skin were cracked with dehydration. Coming over, Jake made a sad sound of sympathy.

"Poor kid… She was a fighter." He said regretfully and Tony's eyes snapped up.

"What do you mean was? She still is!" he scowled and Jake gave him a look.

"Zohura… Does it hurt when I press here?" Jake asked in Persian as he lightly pressed down her stomach and she let out an anguished cry.

"Tony, her organs are failing. She's as good as dead."

"You mean she needs more food? We'll just give her all of ours and-"

"No. Tony. Listen to me. She isn't hungry anymore. It's past that, even if we give her food she can't recover." Staring at his friend, the marine blinked at his words before slowly turning back towards the girl in his arms.

"It's over..." Jake told him "I'm sorry."


"…and then he looked up and saw Zohura." Gibbs finished. He had told him of the interrogation and Tony bit his lip before shaking his head warily.

"She's dead Gibbs. It couldn't be her." There was a tone of resignation in his voice as he said the words out loud and gave him the same look Jake had given him when he delivered the verdict on Zohura's life.

"Are you sure?" he asked gently and part of Tony wanted to hit the pitying look off of his face.

"Absolutely positive." He assured him and Gibbs nodded, flipping open his phone.

"McGee. Go get Archer's ass back in here… You have ten minutes… He said that she was dead… Give the phone to Ziva…" there was some mumbled discussion after that in which Tony tuned out, trying to focus on the things Rachel had told him.

Picture Jake talking with Ziva or Lily with McGee. She had told him and for the next couple of minutes, amused himself with images of Ziva and Jake having ninja fights and Tim stuttering endlessly as he blushed while trying not to look like an awkward geek in front of Lily.

Deciding to take it up a notch, he imagined Brandon and Gibbs, both men trying to talk over the other as they argued that they were right, or perhaps Gibbs with Jake, both staring silently at each other in a silent contest of who was more intimidating.

Now thoroughly amused, Tony allowed a small smile grace his lips as he went through more scenarios. Abby and Peter would have been a good one as well… They would have gotten along well. Michael probably would have bonded best with Ducky, his quiet personality and patience able to withstand any story the doctor had to offer.

"Come on DiNozzo." Gibbs suddenly said, appearing next to him again and Tony nodded, trotting beside his partner. Gibbs briefly smiled at the action and Tony momentarily wondered why, but then shrugged it off.

"Ziva has some pictures sorted out for you… She already spent the past hour organizing them all so we may as well be thorough and double check." Gibbs told him and Tony was about to ask what he was talking about when he saw the arrangement of photos all laid out on the floor of the squad room.

"Really?" he asked grouchily, picking up one of a pretty afghan woman smile brightly into the camera and another of a Muslim beaming as well. Gibbs didn't answer, instead moving towards his desk and logging onto his computer.

"I have sorted them all out." Ziva said and Abby popped up from under Ziva's desk.

"I helped!" she beamed "My babies are hard at work… I had nothing else to do. We calculated Zohura's age to be about twenty-five to thirty if she was alive. That pile is right…Here!" the Goth told him, brandishing a group of pictures at him "And then we separated them into whether they are Muslim or not. So, if Zohura is alive and in America she should be one of these nine pictures!" Abby finished and then ended with giving Tony a tight hug. "You haven't come talked to me." She mumbled in his arms and Tony hesitated before relaxing in her embrace slightly.

"Haven't had time Abs. You want to come over for dinner tonight?" he asked as a peace treaty and the forensic analyst gave a grin in return.

Sighing, he grabbed the stack of photos she had offered moments before and shifted through them tentatively.

"No…No… God no… Um. No again…Nada…the opposite of yes…No…and Nope." He said as he stared at the pictures "None of these are her."

Groaning, Ziva picked them up and stuffed them into a manila folder agitatedly. She began to mutter under her breath as she picked up the other stacks that were cluttered around the room, trying to get them all back into one place. Tony chuckled, leaning over to help her as he grabbed the pile next to his desk before turning perfectly still.

Was this some kind of joke?

He pulled the picture up and stared, looking into the dark eyes he had seen hundreds of times before. Tony recognized the face structure, even if it was covered up.

"Zohura." He breathed out and Abby, Ziva, and Gibbs all snapped their attention to him.

"Tony?" Abby asked and the agent turned it around.

"That's her." He told them and Ziva stuck her lips out slightly as though she was confused by this revelation. Abby took the photo out of his hand and stared.

"Tony… This woman is almost fifty. She can't be Zohura. The dates don't match up."

"It's her." He insisted and looked down at the name. "Adila Umaymah" he read and looked back up at the three remaining people in the bullpen.

"This is her." He told them and the frowned "Wait… No it can't…" Confusion washed over him and for a second, Tony wasn't entirely for sure what was going on.

Zohura was definitely dead… Right?

"Hurts." Zohura moaned into her arm and Tony looked at her pitifully, trying to focus on watching the guards.

"We have an opening every five minutes for about twenty seconds." He told Jake flatly, his tone depressed and emotionless. His friend looked over at him, working on sharpening the rock in the corner of their cave.

"Tony." He said sharply "Snap out of it. Do you know where the guards go?" Glaring, the other Marine shrugged.

"It looks like they head right and take a left…but the last time they took me out we went right then right again."

"Same…" Jake said thoughtfully "You think their HQ or something is over there?"

"Maybe. If we make it back we should tell out CO that. It would be fun to bomb this place."

"When we make it back. And yeah, it would be." Jake agreed. Tony nodded dully and continued to surveillance the area, ignoring the wounded moans coming from the corner of the cave.

Ignoring Jake as he slid next to his him, Tony sighed and got up to offer comfort to Zohura when his friend grasped his wrist and shoved him back down.

"Jake, what the-"

"We need to talk about her." He said sternly and the way each of the words were spoken so precisely, Tony had to wonder if his friend had rehearsed this to himself while Tony was sleeping.

"About Zohura?" he clarified and Jake nodded, straightening up like a parent about to tell their child that Santa Claus wasn't real.

"You do realize… When we escape, that we can't take her with us… Right?" he asked and the other marine felt his eyes snap up in outrage. Before he could speak though, Jake cut him off by holding up his hand. "Listen to me. She is dying. There is absolutely nothing we can do. Now, if we try to take her with us, than she's just going to slow us down and the little chance we have of making it out of here will be gone."

"She doesn't deserve to die in here alone." Tony responded coolly.

"And you think it would be better for her if she saw us killed first?" Jake challenged "She wouldn't want that Tony. She would want us to live. In fact, there is no 'would' about it, we can ask her ourselves right now."

"Leave her alone!" Tony stood up, suddenly furious. His voice bounded across the walls and he knew he was too loud, but didn't care. "Just shut up!" More might have been said if two men hadn't burst into the room and roughly grabbed him.

"Tony!" Zohura suddenly sat up and Jake quickly pushed her back down, watching with incredible sadness as he heard the marine being dragged away from the prison where they were usually brought when they were tortured.

"I'm sorry Tony." Jake whispered solemnly and sat down next to the crying girl, trying to figure a way out of all of this.

"She's…Dead. She's dead." Tony was saying to himself and felt Ziva gently pry the picture from his grip.

"Tony" she started but her partner quickly cut her off, sounding almost hysterical as he spoke.

"No! That's her! Why is she alive? She's supposed to be dead! I know she is! I know it!" A sharp pain hit his cheek and for a moment he stiffened, thoughts of blood and sand coming back before he realized it was Ziva who had hit him across the face- hard.

"Calm down." She said firmly and he looked at her blankly.

"You hit me." He said, sounding totally shocked.

"You were panic-stricken." She told him defensively and Tony scowled at her, rubbing his face.

"Come on." He heard Gibbs mutter to him and before he could react, someone was grabbing his elbow, hauling him away from the squad room and towards the elevator.

"No, Gibbs. I'm fine. I won't freak out again, I-" he started but was quickly cut off by his boss' harsh look.

"Shut up." He said simply and Tony sighed, deciding it was better to oblige. He knew Gibbs long enough to know when and when not to push, and right now? He really shouldn't push.

Biting his tongue, he resisted the urge to ask where they were going until they reached one of the silver doors that he recognized so well.

"Interrogation?" he frowned "Who do you have in there?" Gibbs didn't respond, simply opening the door to show an empty room. Pushing his agent inside, Tony turned to look at his boss blankly. What was he doing? "Um…Boss?" he asked, but Gibbs didn't answer, he just pointed Tony to the table.

Shrugging the agent went to sit down, only to have his Boss pull him back up and gesture to the other seat where the people being interrogated usually sat.

No way… No. Gibbs wasn't going to…?

"Are you about to interrogate me?" he asked incredulously and Gibbs sat across from him, giving him his signature stare.

"You told me that did awful things. Perhaps you would like to confess?" Tony blinked, staring at Gibbs without understanding.

"I did do awful things." He agreed "but…"

"But what?"

"I still don't get why I'm here."

"You should be familiar with the process DiNozzo." Gibbs told him smoothly and Tony could sense he was pushing for something, but for what, he wasn't sure. "I sit here and ask the questions. You give me the answers."

"I'm not a criminal."

"I don't know Tony, what exactly did you do in Afghanistan?" Freezing, the NCIS agent turned to stare at his boss. Instant betrayal and hurt seemed to start running through his blood stream.

"You…You think…?" there was no denying to absolute pain in his tone, but Gibbs didn't respond at all to it. Standing up, Tony glowered "I don't have to deal with this." He spat out and Gibbs pushed back his own chair, pressing Tony back down.

"Sit down." He growled out "Or should I handcuff you too?"

"I didn't do anything!" Tony yelled, feeling the hurt spread at the fact his Boss…His staunchest ally didn't trust him right now. "How could you think that I did?" he asked and Gibbs sat back down, putting his handcuffs down on the table threateningly.

"How did you escape from POW?" Gibbs asked quietly and Tony stared at him, trying to understand. "Answer me." Gibbs growled out.

"Originally me and Jake had a plan. We were going to break out, but we had an argument over Zohura. I wanted to bring her with us… He didn't."

"Why didn't he want to bring her?"

"Jake said she was dying… She was starving and her organs had begun to shut down. He said she would only get us killed and she was going to die anyways."

Tony stared at Gibbs with absolute hatred as he spoke. His hands were clenched into fists and he couldn't stop the steady feeling of betrayal in his chest. Gibbs had been the last person in the world to do something like this to him. Ever.

"Did you end up taking her out with you?" he asked and Tony shook his head, Zohura's screams filling his head.

"No." he whispered, his hands shaking slightly.

"Then how do you know she's dead?" Gibbs asked lightly and the anger inside Tony lit up again, sending in throwing his chair back.

"I don't have to tell you anything!" he shouted and went to the door only to find his boss blocking his path. "Get out of the way." He hissed darkly and the moment Gibbs moved, Tony's hand went up to hit him.

Quickly grabbing his wrist, Gibbs forced him back, snatching the cuffs off the table and expertly placing them on.

"You…" Tony hissed, not being able to think of any insult worthy of him, though secretly thankful that Gibbs had reacted quickly enough to that he didn't hit him, and that his hands were cuffed in front of him and instead of behind.

"What happened?" Gibbs asked forcefully.

"Alright," Peter said softly "This must be the place."

The marines all looked at the rather large cave entrance from a distance, boxes of weapons stashed in front with what looked to be five men standing guard.

Ben Craig looked around, holding his breath. It had taken them awhile to track down their missing squad members, but they had done it. Hopefully, he thought wryly as he looked at Michael and Dale's stoic faces, Peter's plan would work.

After a numerous amount of begging from all of platoon, Peter managed to get every single marine on the camp to come join them, making a pretty large group. Hopefully one big enough to overthrow whoever had Tony and Jake hostage.

"Alright." Peter said lowly to the marines "Remember, we are going to have to split up into five groups. The first one-"

BANG!

Weapons instantly went into position as the sound of a gun piercing through the air went off, and everyone turned to see what the commotion was.

Whatever had happened was apparently inside the cave though, as four of the five men raced inside, weapons at the ready.

"What the Hell?" Ron muttered and a few more rounds went off into the air, causing the remaining guard to fall. Racing out front, were two filthy men, one covered completely in blood.

"Well, I'll be damned." Dale whispered "Tony and Jake." All men gasped quietly readying for any sort of attack.

"What the Hell are you doing?" Jake hissed when they ran close enough to see the huge group of men staring at them with open mouths.

"We were about to go get you!" Peter gaped back.

"Oh really? Couldn't have done that three months ago? How long have you been standing here!?" Jake growled but was interrupted by a gunshot flying close behind him. "Never mind. We need to get out of here. Now."

"Shit, he's shot." Scott muttered, looking at Tony who was head to toe in blood.

"It isn't mine." He whispered, touching his face. His face was one of pure shock, but that didn't stop him from keeping up with everyone else.

"Go, now!" Peter yelled when more men exited the building, guns in hand. A couple marines ran out, shooting back.

"We have enough men to take this place out!" Ben screamed and Peter nodded.

"Do it!" he yelled and the rest of the group ran forward as Peter grabbed the two injured marines to take them to the truck which was hidden behind rocks and camouflage.

"Grenade!" Brandon yelled and everyone ducked as the first explosion went off.

"We ran out just as our squad was about to come in to rescue us. We were too weak to join the fight, but it didn't matter. Eventually our men blew the whole place up."

"Any survivors from the other side?"

"None." Tony said quietly, staring at the metal cuffs on his hands. Maybe he deserved these after all, he thought bitterly to himself. After what he did…

"Is that how Zohura died? In the explosion?" he asked and Tony clenched his fist at the name.

"No. She died right before."

Letting out a frustrated breath. Gibbs leaned forward to look his agent in the eye.

"How?" he said forcefully and Tony looked away, remembering the horrifying yells and clear cries of pain.

"Gibbs-"

"Tell me."

"I can't."

"DiNozzo. Tell. Me. Now."

"No!" he snapped and would have tried to get up again is it wasn't for the cuffs around his wrists. Looking slightly dejected he kicked a leg of the table forcefully, hoping to relinquish some of his anger. When nothing happened, Tony buried his face into his hands, muttering something too low for anyone to head.

"What?" Gibbs asked, his own tone sounding a little bit pained.

"I…Can you just let me go now? Please?" he whispered and Gibbs regretfully shook his head. Tony felt hate rise up once more again, but said nothing. It was quickly squashed by his defeated thoughts. Part of him was exhausted from all the stress and mood swings. He just wanted to sleep everything off. Of course, he couldn't do that. Not while his friends were in danger…

"I killed her." He spoke finally. His voice was quiet, but the words were clearer than day. Gibbs' eyes snapped back onto his and he stared.

"What?"

"I killed her."

"It hurts!" Zohura sobbed needlessly and Tony winced at her pain. He looked pleadingly at his friend who had just slipped back into their cage with a satisfied smile.

"I just got them!" he beamed, looking immensely proud as he handed Tony one of the arms he had acquired. Under normal circumstances, Tony would have rejoiced at the fact they now had weapons to defend themselves, but right now, he just couldn't.

"We can't leave her. Not like this." He told him quietly and Jake stared, looking at the girl who was pitifully holding her head between her hands in pain. "She can barely think straight… Jake we have to do something."

At first, there was nothing said. The two men just watched with incredible sadness as the girl withered on the ground helplessly.

"I'll put her out of her misery." Jake suddenly said and hoisted his gun. Crying out, Tony jumped in between the two, looking horrified.

"What the Hell?" he practically screamed and Jake jumped forward to cover his mouth.

"Shut up!" he hissed "You know it is the only way! We can't bring her with us, and she is as good as dead. This is the only way."

"No! She's not a dog Archer!" Tony growled and Jake blinked at the use of his last name, sounding more like an enemy than a friend.

"So you are just going to let her die slowly than?" Jake sneered coldly and Tony backed away, looking as though he had just been struck. Not answering the question, he went and knelt next to the girl, gently rubbing her back as he gave Jake the filthiest look imaginable.

"Hey Zoey." He soothed and she gave a sigh, looking as though she didn't have the energy to cry anymore.

"Tony." She said simply, tracing his hand "Make it stop." She begged him quietly and Tony felt a large lump in his throat at the implication.

"Aw, Zoe. You're going to be alright."

"No. He told me." She said, pointing a little hand at Jake "He told me I die. He told me I do." Her voice was filled with fear, but also some resignation as well. Taking a shaky breath, Tony quickly shook his head.

"No, Zohura-"

"I want to." She said so quietly that Tony wasn't entirely for sure he heard right "I want to if the pain goes."

Tony decided right then and there that the world was a horrible place. At such a young and vulnerable age… No child should ever say that. Ever. They were too young, never having experienced the world to have wished such a horrible thing.

Yet here was a little girl, starving and days away from her own death, wanting to be murdered just to make the pain ease. Was it really that bad? Tony's own starvation was painful. Cramps and dizziness was just the beginning of it, but he knew he would keep fighting. Zohura apparently didn't even have that in her any longer.

Not trusting himself to speak, Tony simply watched as Zohura grabbed something off of her neck. It was a very fine and delicate chain, dark, with a simple blue stone hanging off.

"My mama's." Zohura whispered lovingly. Tony had remembered when he first came that she was always wearing that necklace, only taking it off to hide it when their captors came.

"Pretty." He told her weakly and felt another lump in his throat when she offered it to him.

"You keep. I want you to…Remember me." She confessed quietly and Tony looked over at Jake, who bit his lip and looked away.

"Zoe…I-"

"Please?" Taking it with shaking hands, he took the necklace and put it one of his pockets.

"I'll take good care of it." He told her solemnly and Jake knelt in front of him.

"Tony… Let me just do it. She wants it. Just get it over with before we have to leave." Wincing as Zohura grasped his hand, Tony felt as though the world had been dropped on his shoulders. A little girl's fate rested on what he said… How could anyone cope with that?

"You." Zohura interjected and if the atmosphere in the cave could get any darker, it did. "I want a friend to…do it. Please?" she added hastily.

Tony was going to be sick. He was sure of it. He didn't want to do this...He didn't want to, he didn't want to, he didn't want to…God, please someone stop this from happening.

It didn't stop though. It was reality and he couldn't stop it any more than he could stop anything else in his life from happening.

"I…I…Okay. I just…Give me the gun." He choked out quietly and the moment he heard a soft sigh from Zohura, he felt his self-hatred for what he was about to do decrease slightly. "I'm sorry." He told her "I am so sorry." Her dark eyes latched onto him as he loaded the gun, and Tony continued, hoping to distract her from the bullets he was putting into the gun. "You're brave, you know that? I don't think I've ever met anyone as brave as you, and I probably never will… I'll remember you for a…Very long time. My whole life in fact." There was a pause in which the gun was finally ready. He looked at Zohura with a questioning glance and she nodded, closing her eyes and he heard her murmur something in Persian.

"I'm very lucky I was able to meet you." He told softly and with her eyes still closed, she gave him one final smile.

Tony fired.

"There. I said it. That's how I'm so sure she's dead. I did it. I killed her. That's how I got covered in blood that night. After I shot her…I…Well, we had to hurry. Jake told me to hurry up and run, but I didn't want to leave her in that place, so I picked her up and ran with her…It was stupid, but I still wanted her…body, to be outside at least. There was this room where we sometimes went if we were good. They gave us food there. It was her favorite spot because there was a huge hole where you could see a point in the distance. She told me it was her town she lived in before she was kidnapped… I left her there before we escaped."

Tony saw his boss move slightly, but he trucked on, afraid someone would stop him from admitting all of his wrongs if he didn't get it all out now.

"We had planned it so when we escaped the guards had gone to switch for perimeter control. We were a little late because…Well, because I was so…Hesitant with Zohura. We ran out, and anybody who was in sight we shot. Looking back on it, some of those people could have been hostages too. At the time it didn't seem to matter. I killed them all in cold blood." He said, complete loathing in his voice.

"I told you that you would hate me for things I did out there. Killing an innocent nine year old? A group of people who may or may not have been blameless as well? Yeah. I did that and...and more. When the men finally blew up that god forsaken place, one of the men that had come to help out- to help rescue me and Jake went up to me to see if I was alright. He went up to me…I didn't see him coming. He touched me and I just… My nerves were already fried and I had a knife in my hand…" his voice trailed off and Tony bit his lip, trying to ignore everything. He was such a monster.

Ignoring the cuffs digging into his wrists, Tony buried his face into his hands, unable to relive any memories any longer. Taking carefully measure breaths, he didn't notice Gibbs until he gently grabbed his wrists and took the cuffs off.

"I'm sorry I had to do that to you." He said quietly and Tony blinked. Gibbs had apologized… To him?

"Why did you?" he asked, a bit of resentment still detected in his voice despite the obvious fatigue.

"You wouldn't tell me anything otherwise. I had to press some buttons. You told me how you did something bad…I figured putting you a criminal's seat might break you." He admitted and Tony looked up at him.

"Break me." He repeated listlessly and Gibbs frowned, blue eyes looking very much indeed apologetic.

"I needed to know everything." Nodding, Tony rubbed his wrists, unable to look at Gibbs this second. He still felt a hint of betrayal, but nowhere near as strong of before. There was still the embarrassment of him freaking out and spilling his guts like he was on an emotional soap opera. Now he just wanted to be alone…

"Come on." Gibbs added, pulling him up. Tony groaned. Or not he supposed.

"Where are we going? Gibbs I still want to work on the case."

"I know. Which is why I'm sending you with Abby."

"Abby?" he asked tiredly and Gibbs nodded.

"You can help her until you calm down. I don't think you're ready for field work just yet." He said and Tony accepted this statement, knowing it was mostly true.

"You didn't do anything wrong, you know that right?" Tony turned to him and stared, shaking his head at his Boss' words.

"That's not true. Our job is to help people…To bring them back to their families. Not kill them."

"You would have-"

"Have what? Died? Yeah. That's kind of the job isn't it? You do what is right and if your life is the stakes, so be it. I had no family. Zohura did. That marine I killed? He did. They had people waiting on them, wanting them to come home. I never had that. My Father told the moment I signed up he didn't give a damn if I came back or not, so what right did I have to put my life before any of theirs?" Hitting the emergency button, Gibbs turned to glare at him full throttle.

"Want to tell that Abby? See how she reacts?" he asked coldly "How about Tim or Ziva?"

Swallowing, Tony tried to keep his eyes leveled.

"You know I didn't mean it like that. Besides, if I had died out there you guys would have never even known me."

"Exactly. And you would have never met us. So are you telling me that we're not worth it?"

"Hey!" Tony protested weakly "It isn't…I didn't mean…"

"I get the job Tony. I did it too."

"Yeah… I know." He agreed softly and leaned against the cool metal of the elevator before giving a wary laugh. "This whole case…It's gone to Hell hasn't it?" he asked shakily and Gibbs shrugged.

"People like us always seem to carry a little extra weight." He said and Tony finally let a small smile touch his lips and the sentiment behind the simple statement. "Besides," Gibbs added as he flicked the elevator back on "For the people you did save. It was worth it wasn't it?"

Flashing back to other missions he went on… Women and men laughing and crying joyfully. Being reunited with their families, or being brought to a safer place. Tony's small smile quickly turned to a full grin.

"Yeah." He admitted "It was."


Dale Benson couldn't remember the last time he had experienced anything so painful.

His captor hummed quietly as they made their way into the rotting room. After driving for endless hours, they had dumped the car and made their way into another waiting one, which took them to the house in the middle of nowhere.

Dale had decided as he looked out the window to oversee a field of flowers and trees, it wasn't a terrible place to die.

"Look, can we at least talk about this a little?" he asked and his captor didn't respond, simply preparing everything for the day's trials of pain. Heated stones, electrical shocks, knives…

"I know who you are." He stated and his captor paused, obviously not expecting that from their prisoner. Turning, eyes bored deeply into his face.

"How is that?" they asked quietly, real curiosity peeking "The others I murdered… They had ideas, but they did not know. Who do you think I am?"

"I don't know your real name." Dale told the person, obviously relieved that he had gotten them talking "But Tony told me about you- Well not you, but Zohura. He told me about her."

Hissing, the person lashed out, slapping Benson across the face.

"Do not speak that name!" the person growled as Dale flinched away.

"Whose?" he asked bitterly "Tony's or Zohura's?" Anger quickly rose again and the captor hastily grabbed a knife, plunging into the man's leg.

"Hold. Your. Tongue. Or I will cut it off." They hissed as he howled out, and Dale gave the person another look of a mixture of resentment and pity.

"You're going to kill me either way." He told them sadly and the person gave a quiet laugh, though not one that wasn't laced with pain.

"I am sorry for that…But it is the only way to make him pay." They said and straightened up, looking around the empty building. "Where is my gun?" they muttered to themselves before leaving the room without another glance at the man chained by his wrists to the wall.


"I do not understand." Ziva growled in frustration. "This is not Zohura! It could not be!" she snapped as she threw down the photo.

The mossad agent was pacing around the empty bullpen, talking to herself furiously in a mixture of English and Hebrew.

Her partner's sureness at the picture had set off a spark in the agent, making her determined to find out where and who this woman was. It seemed very unlikely this woman could be the little girl Tony had mentioned. She was almost fifty according to their record, and when her physical examination had been done to enter America, there was no implication she had ever been tortured- let alone the extent Tony, Jake, or Zohura were.

Rubbing her temples, she pressed herself to think further.

What woman could possible look like an older clone Zohura? Unless… No.

Ziva's mind lit up at the possibility. If her hunch was correct, everything would make sense. Ziva was moving so fast to get up and tell somebody she didn't notice McGee and Archer until she ran right into them.

"Ow." Jake complained and glared and McGee, who had him in cuffs once more. "If you don't mind Agent David." He said coolly and Ziva shoved the photo in his face.

"This is the woman you saw, yes? Yes?" she asked him impatiently and baffled, the man nodded.

"Yeah, how did you get that?"

"Do not talk. I need to know everything you can tell me about Zohura. Any little detail you can remember."

"Uh…Well, she was about nine or ten-"

"Not what she looked like. Her family, friends, town." Ziva snapped irritably and Jake blinked again.

"Uh…She lived with her Mom, Dad, I think she mentioned a sister and a brother… I don't know! She liked Tony, not me. Why does it even matter?" he asked and Ziva pushed him out of the way, grasping onto Tim.

"If this woman was to change her identity- If she did use a different name, would her real name be recorded in American archives?" she asked her friend who bewilderedly nodded.

"Yeah, but it is under hundreds of security passwords and other protections-"

"Hack into it."

"What!?"

"McGee this is Tony we're talking about! Find out her real name!" Ziva cried before flipping open her phone to call Gibbs.


Whew. That was a lot of work right there...I'm not for sure how I feel about this chapter yet, it is all for you guys to decide. I know with the talk with Gibbs/Tony it seemed a bit OTT, but I figured it is a DRAMA series and it was supposed to be a kind of intense...At least that's how I justified it in my mind :P I also hope I gave you some more obvious clues about who it is in this chapter. I was going to actually tell you who it was, but figured that that wouldn't be fun for anyone, so I just gave some big clues :P Tell me what you think!

Love,

Kensi

P.S.

Quick rant...I did this in my last story, but feel the need to express it again. WHAT THE HECK WERE THE WRITERS THINKING!? My poor baby Tony was betrayed! After all those episodes of Ziva and Tony connecting and him helping her throughout her Dad's death then...This!? She LIES and KEEPs him away!? At told TIM!? Now don't get me wrong. I LOVE McGee, but...He wasn't really the right person to go to that for. I mean, not at first. He's good with the techno stuff, but...Ugh, you know what I mean. Tony should have known. This upsets me greatly.

Very greatly...In fact. I'm slightly anti-tiva because of it. Though it sucks that NOW they might be getting together when I just switched sides. Smh. I feel like Tony should have someone who respects him a little bit more than she does but...Ugh. I'm not going to talk about it. Simply run, watch reruns of NCIS and do HW. That sounds good right now...Please review!