Ten

"Gibbs and Abby are testifying today?" Tony asked as they were preparing breakfast the following morning.

Ziva nodded without looking up from the mango she was dicing. "And Sarah." She told him.

Tony winced. "They're probably gonna see more pictures aren't they?"

Ziva shrugged. "Jordan will only show what you told him was alright." She reminded him.

Tony nodded. "I know… what if Lincoln says something else about…" He trailed off.

Ziva smiled. "He won't. Not after Anderson called him into chambers yesterday."

"How did you know about that?" Tony asked in disbelief.

Ziva laughed lightly. "I have friends in the courthouse who like to gossip." She told him. "And besides, even if he does try to, it doesn't matter. Sarah will tell them that it's normal. Just a physiological reflex, like a sneeze."

Tony nodded. "I guess." He said as he handed her the bowls.

Ziva filled the bowls with fruit and handed Tony a fork. "We can just stay here and relax today." She told him as they walked into the living room to eat.

Tony sighed as he sat down on the couch.

Ziva sat down beside him and leaned over to kiss his cheek lightly. "Try not to worry Tony. Jordan is the best prosecutor in the district, and Sarah, Abby, and Gibbs all know what they're doing." She told him.

Tony nodded. "Alright." He said before digging into his breakfast.

XXXXX

"What happened when you were paged to the Emergency Room?" Jordan asked as he leaned against his table.

"I was paged and asked by one of the doctors to perform an exam on agent DiNozzo." Sarah told him.

"What does this exam entail exactly, miss Dixon?" Jordan asked.

"Well, it's technically evidence collection, so I scraped and clipped agent DiNozzo's fingernails, swabbed for DNA, took blood for a drug and alcohol screen, and to test for and STD's he could have been exposed to. I also took photos of and documented his injuries." Sarah listed.

Jordan nodded. "And what were your findings of this exam?"

"Agent DiNozzo had numerous contusions all over his body, the worst of which were on his back and neck. There were abrasions on his hands, knees, and chest, and some minor anal tearing." Sarah recalled.

"These are all common injuries for sexual assault victims, correct?" Jordan asked.

Sarah nodded. "Yes, sadly I see it all the time." Sarah told him.

Jordan nodded. "And the drug and alcohol tests came back clear?"

"Yes, agent DiNozzo was perfectly sober the night of his attack." Sarah told him.

"What about STD's?" Jordan asked.

Sarah shook her head. "Thankfully our first test was negative, and we've taken blood from agent DiNozzo twice since then to be sure, and the results are still coming back negative."

"That's definitely a good thing. Now let me ask you, what would you say that agent DiNozzo's mental state was like during the exam?" Jordan asked.

Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Objection, Your Honor, it's speculation, there's no way the witness could-"

He was cut off. "SANE Nurses are trained to deal with the psychological evidence surrounding sexual assaults as well as the forensic aspects, mister Lincoln, I suggest you do your homework." Anderson told him firmly. "Continue please, mister Jordan."

Jordan had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing as he listened to Lincoln getting shot down.

"If you could miss Dixon, how would you say agent DiNozzo's mental state compared to this situation?" Jordan asked.

Sarah thought for a moment. "He was terrified, honestly. Which is what I see with a lot of survivors. This exam is one of the most terrifying things that someone could go through during their lifetime. Many people say it's like being assaulted all over again." She told the court.

Jordan nodded. "I can see how it could be traumatizing." He said.

Sarah nodded silently. "Agent DiNozzo did his absolute best to keep his composure." She told him. "He was very brave, it was admirable."

Jordan walked back to his table and picked up his notepad slowly. He really didn't need to read his notes, he just wanted to get a look at Lincoln to try and shoot down whatever cross he thought he could offer.

Jordan looked back up at Sarah. "Would you say that you're an expert in your field miss Dixon? An expert on sexual assault?" He asked.

Sarah nodded. "Yes, sadly I am."

"And how long have you been a SANE nurse?" Jordan asked.

"About eight years." Sarah told him.

Jordan looked toward Lincoln.

"And in those eight years, how many of the patients that you have treated experienced involuntary orgasm?" Jordan asked.

"At least half, possibly a bit more." Sarah said.

"Were these patients male or female?"

"Both." Sarah stated.

"Can you explain to the court how this is possible? How could these people, who claim to have been raped, enduring something terrifying, could experience an orgasm?" Jordan asked.

Sarah nodded. "Of course. An orgasm isn't about what you do and don't like. It's a result of the body being manipulated in a way that creates a release of endorphins and hormones – an orgasm. It's like a reflex. If something comes flying at your face, your body is automatically going to avoid it, even if it's something harmless. It just happens naturally." Sarah explained.

Jordan glanced toward Lincoln and took great pleasure in seeing him slouched down in his chair looking defeated. Jordan had just ripped his entire cross examination out of his hands and used it to his own advantage.

"No further questions for this witness." Jordan announced, turning around to sit in his chair. "All yours." He told Lincoln.

Lincoln shook his head. "No questions for this witness." He mumbled.

XXXXX

Ziva ran her hand through Tony's hair gently as he laid in her arms on the couch. He had spent the morning pacing back and forth in front of the coffee table, trying to keep his mind away from the trial, and Abby and Gibbs testifying.

Tony let out an exhausted sigh. He opened his mouth to speak, but Ziva stopped him.

"Just rest love, Abby told you she would call after she finished." She told him softly.

Tony nodded silently and wrapped his arms around Ziva's waist. He turned his head so he could hear his girlfriend's calm, steady heartbeat underneath him.

Ziva kissed the top of his head softly and went back to playing with his hair. She was hoping she might be able to coax him to sleep, even if he only slept for an hour, it would be more than he had slept the night before.

After Tony testified, it seemed like he was woken up every fifteen minutes with a nightmare. But every time it happened, Ziva was right there to hold him and help bring him back, and he didn't know if he would ever be able to find the words to thank her for that.

If Tony had been anywhere close to sleep, he certainly wasn't when Ziva's phone rang loudly from the coffee table. Tony's head sprung off Ziva's chest and reached for the phone. He hit talk and pressed the speaker phone button.

"Hey Abs."

"Hey Tony, how are you feeling?" Abby asked.

"I'm okay… how'd it go?" Tony asked.

"It was fine Tony, from what I could tell nobody was really impressed with Lincoln's line of questioning… I wish I knew what Gibbs said to him earlier, he wasn't' in a very good mood." Abby told him.

Tony rested back against Ziva. "What did he ask you?"

"He was trying to undermine the DNA match, because it was a familial match." Abby said.

Ziva scoffed. "And that familial match is already in prison. Clemens was the only viable option."

"That's what I said, plus they have the sketch that Tony gave us." Abby reminded them.

"Who was the DNA match Abby?" Tony asked. Nobody had told him any of this before.

"Umm, Clemens was adopted when he was four, the DNA matched the only living relative he has, Kevin Mitchell." Abby said.

Ziva watched closely as Tony's face turned white.

"What's wrong?" She asked gently.

Tony swallowed and looked up at her. "I arrested Kevin Mitchell in Baltimore, it was one of my last cases before coming to NCIS… it was my testimony that put him in prison…" He said softly.

"That wasn't in his file." Abby said.

Tony nodded. "How deep did you look?" He asked.

Abby sighed. "Not very. I looked at the prison visitor log to see if he had any frequent visitors, and Clemens showed up. And I checked his birth parents' records to see if they had any other children and after you guys arrested him I ran his DNA against the DNA in the kit. I didn't even look at Mitchell's arrest report." She admitted.

"It's payback." Tony muttered.

"What did he do?" Ziva asked.

Tony brought his hand up to rub his forehead. "He raped two fourteen-year-old girls. Left them for dead under bridges. I found the second one, her name was Alyssa… she died after I got her to the hospital." Tony told them.

Ziva wrapped her arms around him tightly. "That was not your fault Tony." She said softly.

Tony shrugged. "You said Clemens visited Mitchell in prison Abby?" He asked.

Abby nodded. "Yeah, seven times in the last two months. I still have no idea how Clemens found him though."

Tony sighed. "It doesn't even matter… thanks Abs, we'll talk to you later." He said quietly.

Abby nodded. "Okay, love you both."

That made both Tony and Ziva smile a bit.

"We love you too Abby." Ziva said before she pressed the end call button.

She turned back to look at Tony, who was leaning against the back of the couch with his hands covering his face. She laid back down beside him and reached out to try and take his hands off his face.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked softly.

Tony shrugged. "I don't care."

Ziva brought her hand up to caress Tony's cheek lovingly. "Yes, you do Tony. If you didn't it wouldn't have this effect on you."

Tony sighed. "A jogger found the first girl, Carrie, and she was taken to the hospital… she made it, I was the one who interviewed her, she remembered everything, which helped us, but it had to have been awful for her… she gave us every detail she could remember, and she testified against Mitchell at his trial without batting an eye." He told her.

"And Alyssa?" Ziva asked.

Tony sniffled. "She had been missing for about thirty-five hours when I found her. We got a call about some screaming under the railroad bridge. We got there and Mitchell was gone, and she was lying on the ground… barely conscious. She was having a hard time breathing, so I took her to the hospital. She died of a brain bleed in surgery… he hit her so hard that…" He trailed off.

"You didn't wait for the ambulance? You didn't have any backup?" Ziva asked.

Tony shook his head. "I was just finishing paperwork when the call came in, my partner was already gone for the night… the doctor told me I was right to take her, she had a better chance if she got there as fast as possible…" He told her.

Ziva kissed his cheek softly. "You are an amazing man, Tony." She told him.

Tony shrugged. "She said something to me when I picked her up… I remember her voice, but I have no idea what she said."

Ziva nodded. "You can't think about it too much Tony. It will drive you crazy."

"And now Mitchell just wants to screw with me, so he sends his brother to rape me? That doesn't make any sense." Tony said angrily.

Ziva wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer to her. "It will not ever make sense to us Tony." She told him.

Tony nodded. "I just want this to be over." He admitted.

Ziva kissed his cheek. "It will be soon. Are you still alright with Abby coming over tomorrow to keep you company while I am at the courthouse?" She asked.

Tony nodded. "Yeah… I don't really wanna be alone." He told her.

Ziva nodded. "That's okay Tony." She reminded him.

XXXXX

"Are you nervous?" Tony asked as the couple settled into bed that night.

"About testifying?" Ziva asked.

Tony nodded. "Yeah."

Ziva shrugged. "A little. I do not want to mess it up." She told him honestly.

"How would you mess it up?" Tony asked.

"I do not want to say the wrong thing… cross always scares me a little bit because some lawyers word their questions in ways that are hard to understand." Ziva told him.

Tony turned off the lamp on the bedside table and held his arms open for his girlfriend.

"You'll do great." He told her softly.