A/N:

Thank you to everyone who read my chapter, anyone that came up with great suggestions and ideas, and my reviewers:

Diana Prince86; tivaandmcabby; tiva lovah; TheIsraeliNinjaStarOfDavid; aquasm; 7Seven7; ForeignMusicLyrics; m; pirate-princess1; Tiva-Babe UK, and my friends: 'Kat-rine' and 'Gouda' – love you!

You guys are awesome! :D

Here we go…

CHAPTER 10: (I don't own NCIS or its characters. Sadly.)

TONY'S POV.

It was 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and I'd given up doing my tiresome paperwork.

I leant back in my chair and stared at Ziva. It had been a couple of days since she had been released from the hospital, and she had been under strict instructions to do paperwork only. In those couple of days, she had managed to avoid talking to me about anything other than cases.

She sat there, typing robotically with a blank vacant look on her face. I could see that her heart and soul weren't into what she was doing, and she had lost the spark in her eyes. Every time I tried to talk to her about what happened, she would swiftly change the subject or ignore me. I knew I couldn't push it, after all she had been through so much emotionally and physically. I couldn't really force her to talk, but I knew I had to make her listen to me, to get through to her somehow.

Gibbs strode into the squadroom.

'Go home, that's enough paperwork for today.' He said before grabbing his coat from his desk and leaving.

I slowly started to gather up my things and watched Ziva closely.

She sighed, switching off her computer before grabbing her rucksack and briskly walking to the elevator.

I quickly stuffed my things in my own bag and swung it over my shoulder before running to the elevator.

The doors had already started to close as I approached and before they could close completely I inserted my hand into the gap. The doors re-opened revealing a not pleased Ziva.

'What are you doing, Tony?' she asked impatiently.

'Going home, Zi-vah.' I said, using my nickname for her to test her mood.

I stepped into elevator beside Ziva, leaving a gap between us. As soon as the doors closed and the elevator started to move, I moved quickly to flick the emergency switch causing it to judder to a halt and leaving us in the metallic tinged semi-darkness.

'Tony!' she snapped.

'Ziva,' I said softly, 'We need to talk.'

'About what?' she said sharply.

'You know what. About everything.'

I paused and took a deep breath.

'About the pregnancy and miscarriage and how you feel. We haven't even mentioned the miscarriage since it happened, none of us know how you are or how to help you.'

'I don't need your help.' She snapped.

'Ziva. You can't honestly look me in the eyes and tell me you're fine. If you were, I'd be worried, we all would be, especially after everything. We're all here for you, we want to help you.'

She stayed silent, head down so I carried on.

'You come to work and just sit there doing work the whole time, not talking to any of us. And when you eventually do, it's not about anything apart from cases. You don't let us in anymore.'

I continued.

'Gibbs knows something's up and he's doing his grizzly bear impression; Abby is upset that you never come down to see her anymore, has stopped wearing pigtails and thinks you hate her; McGee is being McGeekier than usual; and I…well I miss teasing my partner and correcting her English idioms.'

I heard a faint chuckle which was quickly smothered.

Ziva was still looking down towards to floor in silence. I stepped towards her and gently lifted up her chin with my finger and said:

'Please Zi.'

That was when I realised that her face was streaked with tears, her eyes filled with sadness. Her chocolate brown orbs connected with my own.

'I don't know what else to do.' She whispered so quietly that I almost didn't hear her.

'I do.' I whispered before leaning forwards and placing a feather light kiss on her lips.

Ziva looked at me, surprise clear in her eyes.

'Don't pretend, Tony.' She whispered.

'What?' I said, taking a step back, my surprise was obvious.

'You don't need to pretend that you have to do this, to like me or love me. You shouldn't, because I'm broken and beyond repair. Worthless.' She said sorrowfully.

'Ziva David. Don't let me ever hear you say that again.' I said, 'You are not worthless, you're the complete opposite. Priceless. Don't you ever wonder why we tried so hard to find you in Somalia? Why we avenged your supposed death?'

I continued.

'And what is broken can be fixed, what is damaged can be healed. The fact that you have survived so much, just shows how strong you are. And I have never pretended with you, Ziva. Why do you always think that your not capable of being loved?'

She looked unconvinced but smiled shyly at the last part.

'Tony.' She said, before stopping.

'Yes?' I prompted gently.

'I don't think I can,' she said hesitantly, 'I don't think I'm…ready for a relationship at the moment'

'I know,' I said sincerely, 'I just wanted to tell you how I feel. I wanted to show you that you won't be alone. Ever. I want to help you heal.'

'If you'll let me.' I added.

After a big pause, Ziva nodded.

I know that I hadn't needed to hear an answer, acceptance was enough.

I gave her a hug, and felt her relax against me.

'I think we should get out of the elevator now, people are going to be worried that an interrogation is taking place or something.' I joked.

Ziva gave a small smile.

'Let's get pizza and a movie, just like old times.' She said quietly.

'It's as if you could read my mind.' I smiled.

What did you think?

Thought I'd make the ending a bit more light-hearted. :)

Don't worry! The talking will continue! I thought it would all be too long to fit into one chapter, so it'll be continued in the next. :)

Anyways, thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review! :D

xxx