Author's Note: A few days, I know, sorry again! Good news, I have thanks to thanksgiving, I only have one class this week coming up. Now that's pretty exciting. It's likely I can update either the day before thanksgiving, or the day after :) just not on it. I won't be around at all!
I'm think of... a new story after this one! Not a sequel. I wouldn't know what to do for a sequel! haha. But definitely another story that has both Kate AND Ziva. Actually. Maybe it could be a sequel! Let me know what you guys think! Sequel or No Sequel?!
Saving Kate: Chapter 8
Ziva awoke to find herself looking at Tony. She flinched when she moved to sit up, and had obviously forgotten she'd been injured, if that was even a word for what had happened to her.
"Careful," Tony said, reaching out and stopping her from sitting up. "I'd ask you how you're feeling, but from your face I can already tell."
Ziva raised an eyebrow up at him.
"You know, hitting the little button makes more of the pain meds come through the IV if what your getting isn't working," he told her.
Ziva glanced at the IV, the medicine, and then the button. "You are serious, yes?" she asked.
Tony grinned. "I knew it hurt, yeah," he told her. "But I wouldn't.."
Ziva blinked and hit the button a few times.
"Hit it multiple times.."
Ziva's brow curled in confusion. "I do not think it works.."
Tony smirked. "Oh.. you're gonna feel that in a minute or two.." he told her.
Gibbs walked in and now he was raising his eyebrow up. "Why is she making that face?" he asked Tony.
Tony grinned. "I tried to explain the that the button gives her more medicine, but before I told her not to keep hitting it, she pressed it a few times."
"Ah.." Gibbs said, not really knowing what else to say. He admitted, her face was amusing as she realized she definitely hit it one too many times. "Feeling ok?" he asked her.
Ziva glanced at him and felt kind of foolish. Her whole body felt kind of weird at the moment. Definitely too much. Now she remembered why Mossad did not allow painkillers. "This is.. odd.." she told Gibbs. "Never was on drugs before.."
Tony stared at her. "Not even painkillers?"
"Nope.." Ziva said, barely able to contain a giggle all of the sudden. Why the hell was she suddenly giddy?
Kate wandered in and a half-smile crossed her face when she noticed Ziva. "Oh.. I did that once the first time I had a button to control the morphine.." she admitted. "It feels like you're flying if you hit it enough times."
Ziva grinned. "Not flying.. can it make me fly?"
"Whoa.. too much morphine?" McGee asked as he walked in the room.
Tony looked around. "Man, has everyone but me done this before?"
Gibbs just smirked.
"I wanna fly.."
"NO!" they all yelled, stopping Ziva from hitting the button again.
Ziva smiled and laid her head back down. "Gonna sleep 'gain then.." she mumbled before closing her eyes.
"She's kinda cute when she's not.. you know, scary," McGee said.
Everyone turned and looked at McGee.
"What?" he asked. "It's just hard to imagine she can actually be dangerous when you see her like that."
"Where is Ziva?"
Everyone turned. Only Gibbs recognized the man. "Deputy Director David.."
"Ah, yes, Agent Gibbs, where is my daughter?" he asked him.
Gibbs nearly wanted to kill the man, everyone else just stared at him in silence. Instead Gibbs stepped out of his way and everyone followed suit, leaving a trail of agents to Ziva's hospital bed.
"She is drugged?" Eli asked, glancing around at them all.
They nodded.
"Good.." he said, glancing at the bandage on her arm, and her hands. "Is that all her wounds?"
"No.." Tony said. "Two on her right thigh.."
Eli frowned as he looked at his daughter in the bed. She looked pale compared to her usual tan complexion, almost ghastly. But something else was different. "Would you mind leaving me alone with her? I'd like to speak with her alone when she wakes up."
The three agents all looked at Gibbs for approval before they walled out.
Gibbs closed the door, but he didn't leave yet. "I want one thing to be clear between us, Deputy Director."
Eli stared at him incredulously.
"Your daughter put up with this, she endured this," Gibbs told him, walking over and glancing at Ziva who was fast asleep. "She's been through hell, and I'm positive it all leads to you being the reason," he explained. "It's your fault she finds it odd that people can be nice to her, that she tries not to show emotions even though you know she's feeling them."
Eli opened his mouth to speak, but Gibbs just kept on going.
"I'm not done yet," he told him. "Perhaps you could have been better to your daughter, and maybe you just don't know how to be a father," he told Eli. "But somehow your daughter managed to turn out pretty well."
Eli closed his mouth and looked at his daughter lying in the bed. "Ari did this to her?"
"No."
Eli looked at Gibbs. "I thought you told me it was my son who took her."
Gibbs nodded. "Ari did take Ziva, but now, I believe he was trying to help her, not hurt her," he explained. "Ari was tied up, forced to listen to her cry out and scream as they drilled holes into her," he told Eli. "From what Ari said," he began. "Holes they drilled so that they could get to you."
Eli's face was neutral, but inside he was beginning to feel as though he were the worst father. When his child is tortured to get to him, you know you've made mistakes somewhere along the line. But he had to have done something right, hadn't he? Ziva had told them nothing.
"I just thought you should know that neither of your children, for some reason, have turned into monsters even after all you've done to them."
Eli watched as Gibbs walked out of the room, and shut the door. "What can I say, bat.." he whispered, sitting on the edge of his daughter's hospital bed. "Except that he is right.." he told her as she slept. "Perhaps if I had treated you like children.." he wondered out loud. He sighed and kissed his daughter on the forehead.
"Had you done that.. aba.." Ziva said quietly.. opening her eyes. "Had you coddled us so.. perhaps I would not have endured that, perhaps I would have.. tattled," she explained.
He hadn't expected her to wake up, but he was glad that she did. "No, bat.." Eli said to her. "You would not have given anything up.." he told her, placing his hand on her cheek. "Ziva.. you are the sharp end of the spear, my daughter," he explained to her.
Ziva's eyes softened slightly at her father's words. Had he actually been worried for her? He was sitting here, and he was praising her, she'd never seen him do this to anyone before. "Are you ok, papa?"
Eli watched the concern in his daughter's eyes. "Yes, of course."
"I have a.. favor.. to ask, papa.."
Eli was silent, he merely nodded.
"I would.." she started. "I would like to stay here.." she admitted, trying not to let her eyes droop. She was already set to fall back to sleep, she was just trying not to.
Eli watched as her eyes were half-closed. He understood why she would ask him that, and though he might not like it.. she had gone through enough that he should grant it for her. He smiled as her eyes finally closed and she drifted off. "We shall see.. Ziva.."
()()()()()()()()()
Jenny raised an eyebrow up as Eli David walked into her office at NCIS. "This is most definitely a surprise, Deputy Director.."
"Just.. call me Eli," he told her. "We might as well cut formalities at this point, Jen."
Jenny nodded. "You're right," she admitted. "What did I do to earn this visit, Eli?"
Eli shook his head. "I came to ask you for a favor.." he told her, frowning as he said it. Eli David did not ask for favors. This was something completely out of line for him.
"Of course.." Jenny said, watching his face.
"I need.. I need you to keep Ziva here," he explained. "Ziva needs to recover, and she needs.. simplicity.." he finally stated. "She cannot get that in Israel.."
Jenny smiled half-heartedly. "If you're worried for her Eli, it would not hurt to admit it.."
Eli sighed. "I.. am worried," he admitted. "I know that she can handle herself," he told Jen. "I feel better having her in Mossad, but she wishes to stay here.. and that, I simply cannot deny her.."
Jenny did smile for real this time. "You want us to employ Ziva as a full-time liason?" she asked.
"I was hoping, yes."
Jenny nodded. "Agreed."
"You would do this for me?" he asked her.
"No," Jenny replied with a shake of her head. "But I will for Ziva."
()()()()()()()()()()
Ziva shot up in the hospital bed. The cold sweat was enough to know it was just a nightmare, the she wasn't back hanging on that wall. She took a deep breath, but she knew the sound of that drill, and the sound of her own screams were always going to be locked away in her head.
"Hey.."
Ziva turned to the voice and noticed Kate next to her. She smiled a little at her. "Hey.." she said back quietly.
"It's alright you know," she told Ziva, pulling the chair closer to the bed. It was late, and well past visiting hours, but she couldn't bring herself to leave. It had taken her a while to get Tony to finally go, and she was pretty sure Gibbs was probably nearby.
Ziva looked at her with curiosity.
"Being scared," Kate told her. "You're allowed to be scared.. everyone is," she told her.
Ziva smiled again. "That obvious?" she asked.
Kate smiled back at her. "It would scare anyone, Ziva," she told the other woman. "You're trained, but you're not immune to the evils," she explained with a sigh. "If it had been me.. I'd be a lot less calm then you are."
"You will not tell anyone, will you?" Ziva asked.
Kate tilted her head to the side. "If there's something you want to talk about.. no I won't tell anyone," she told Ziva. "Are you alright, Ziva?"
Ziva shook her head. "No.." she stated honestly. She looked at Kate and then laid back down on the bed. "I cannot forget.." she explained, closing her eyes, only to open them immediately. "I cannot close my eyes without seeing it all happening again.."
Kate's eyes softened at Ziva and she took her hand in hers.
"I just close them.. everything is dark, and suddenly I am back..." she explained to Kate. "Caleb is asking questions.. I am not answering.. and then.." she trailed off, taking a deep breath. "Then he has the drill.."
Kate squeezed Ziva's hand. "Ziva.."
"It is like I can still feel it, Kate.." Ziva told her. "I can still feel it.. in my leg.. in my arm.." she whipered, her voice straining. "But.."
Kate frowned. "But what?" she dared to ask.
Ziva looked away. "Everything just starts changing.. things that did not happen are happening.."
"What do you mean?" Kate asked in confusion.
"Suddenly he is drilling me in place he did not, and suddenly.. he is drilling through my heart.." she told Kate. "I start to feel like every part of me is just being drilled apart... Kate.. am I, going insane?"
Kate smiled faintly at Ziva and shook her head. "No.. Ziva, you're not crazy," she told her. She sat down on the edge of the bed now instead, holding onto Ziva's hand. The woman was scared down to her very core, and Kate couldn't blame her for it. "You're scared, Ziva.. and fear does weird things to you," she explained to her. "Fear even takes over your dreams.."
Ziva hated to ask, but she needed it. "You will not leave.. will you?" she asked.
"Not if you want me to stay.." Kate told her, a small smile left on her lips.
"Yes please.." Ziva said. "I feel a little better when I am not alone.." she admitted. She felt stupid for asking Kate to stay with her. It was ridiculous to say she needed someone, but she did. And she hated herself for it.
Kate nodded and stayed on the edge of the bed, not letting Ziva's hand go. "I'll be right here.."
With that, Ziva managed to close her eyes.
()()()()()()()()()()
Okay! There's chapter 8, and I hope you all enjoyed it! Don't forget my question. Sequel, or No Sequel? OR, should I just skip a few months and continue writing onto this story? Let me know what you think.
-Rei
