Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS

When Ziva woke up two hours later, she groaned. Part of her really wanted to go back to bed, but the pull of stitches in her back reminded her why she had to get up. She stood and gently peeled off the last of her ruined sweater. She mentally cursed Chazan. That was her favorite black sweater. And black leather coat, which had a lovely hole in it now. She new that it was silly to be so upset, but she was. She cautiously pulled on her spare shirt, biting her lip at the pain. Finally, it was on and she went up to the bullpen. Walking in, she could tell that the team hadn't made much progress.

Gibbs looked up as she walked in, then glanced at his watch. 1 hour 58 minutes. Not as long as he would have liked; but to be honest, longer than he expected. He pointed to the pizza box that was on her desk, silently ordering her to eat. He was again surprised when she obeyed without question. She had to be feeling off.

"News?" she asked as she took a bite from a slice.

"None. Yet," Tony said, tacking on the last word when she glared at him.

She sighed. She knew that it wasn't the team's fault that she had pissed off her father. She looked at her watch. It was almost 2am. "Go home, guys. Its late, we can keep going tomorrow." She didn't want to give up tonight, but knew that they needed sleep.

Tony looked at her worried expression, and beckoned her to follow him. As soon as they were out of earshot, he started. "Okay, Zi. First you say that you think they'll come after us," he said, not bothering to say who 'they' were. "And then you tell us to go home. What's going on in that head of yours?"

Ziva sighed. She must be tired if Tony was thinking clearer than her. "All I know is that you guys have been working twice as hard the last two weeks to pick up the slack for me, and now its 2 am, you all have been here for what, nearly twenty hours, and you need sleep, not stay up and try to help me find my father."

"Wow, that was nearly as rambling as Abby usually does," Tony commented.

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Tony…"

"I know, I know. Look, first, if you're feeling guilty for not working the last week or so, don't. I'd say finding your father and his assassin is a bit more important. And we've pulled worse hours because of cases that are less than half as personal. But, if you really want us to call it quits for tonight, we can."

"We will give it another hour, and if we do not find anything by then, you will all go home," she decided. She turned to leave, but he grabbed her arm.

"Ziva, everything will be fine, alright? We'll figure this out, and it'll be okay," he said, voice low.

"You cannot know that, Tony," she snapped. "My father-"

"I know. I don't know what your father is capable of, but I do know you, and I know what you are capable of."

She looked into his eyes and saw the confidence there. She smiled. It had been so long since someone (other than Gibbs) had had that much confidence in her. She found she missed it. "Thanks, Tony," she said softly, and the two partners went back.

Gibbs looked up when the two came back in, and looked questioningly at her. She nodded, and they went back to work. Ziva sighed and sat at her desk. She was tired and in pain, but that couldn't be helped. She was about to stand up again when her work phone rang.

Everyone froze. They weren't sure who was calling, but they all new that it was one of two people, since no one else would think that Ziva was at work at 2 in the morning. Ziva took a deep breath, then answered it.

"David," she said firmly.

"Ziva, my daughter," Eli said happily. When Ben told him that he had been forced to shot her, he had worried that it would have hurt her worse.

Ziva frowned, then looked at McGee, signaling him to trace the call, which he had already started doing. "Father, what do you want?" she demanded. "I mean, besides my head on a platter?"

"I want you to come home."

"I am home, Eli. I do not know what else to do to prove that to you."

"How about you explain it to me. In person?" he offered.

"Where should I meet you?" she asked, which caused Tony and Gibbs to stand and stare at her with identical frowns.

"There will be a car outside the Navy Yard in fifteen minutes. I understand that because of the…interaction you had with Chazan earlier, you wish for a member of your team to accompany you, that would be fine. Fifteen minutes, my dear," he said before hanging up.

Ziva cursed in Hebrew and slammed her phone down. "What did he say, Ziva?" Gibbs asked.

"H wants to talk, face to face. He will be here in fifteen minutes to pick me up. Though he did say I could bring someone if I wanted," she added.

Gibbs nodded. "Who would you like?"

She weighed her options. McGee would have been okay, but there most likely wouldn't be technology issues, which was what he was best at. Tony would have been good, but her father couldn't stand him after their last interaction, and she needed her father to leave as peacefully as possible.

"Would you mind?" she asked Gibbs. He would be perfect. He had a commanding presence that even affected her father, and could handle himself if things got dicey

"Course not, Ziva," he said. They spent the next few minutes getting wired with audio and video. Finally, it was time to start heading out. Tony and McGee each gave her a squeeze on her shoulder.

As soon as they got into the elevator, she flipped the e-stop switch. "Gibbs, I am afraid," she admitted. She knew that she had to be honest with him, now of all times.

"Well, seeing as you were shot a few hours ago, fear is understandable," Gibbs said calmly.

"No," she argued, shaking her head. "I am afraid for you. I asked you to come for selfish reasons. But you have to know what my father is capable of."

"Ziver, he sent his daughter to kill her brother, then chose to leave her in a prison camp in Africa. I think I know what he is capable of."

She nodded. He did know more than most did. "Just…watch your back, okay? I have a bad feeling about this," she said, flipping the switch back on.

Gibbs nodded, and so did she. They left, and a limo pulled up next to them as soon as they left the Navy Yard. He glanced at Ziva, who nodded to him, then went in. He followed and sat next to her, they sat across from Director David and Ben Chazan.

A/N: So, this ended up going in a direction that I wasn't expecting, to be honest. Let me know what you think, I'm working on the next chapter now.