Rifiuto: Non Miriena

He'd staked out the abandoned building for the last two days, planning and watching. At some point, he'd watched Reynolds leave the building, and after making sure he was good and gone, Tim had slipped out of the car and into the building. It was an old warehouse, two story at least, that had once been an old ammunitions plant during the second war. As he silently moved toward the second floor, he kicked bullets and gun parts aside, noting the huge assembly line machines and belts littered about. The perfect place to keep a victim.

Silently, he ran calculations in his head. Ziva had been taken little under a week ago, and it had taken him a day to get to the northern most tip of the island, where the old armory building was. He'd staked out the building for two days, gathering supplies and alerting police in the small town in which Reynolds now resided. Now, he just needed to find her and get her out of there and back to the girls so they could all go home.

As he came upon the second floor, he heard slight movement in a room down the hall, and slowly made his way towards it, gun drawn. If Reynolds was back...

But the sight that met his made his blood run cold.

Ziva, chained to an old heater, beaten and bloody and pale. Glancing behind him, he slipped into the room, shut the door, and rushed to her. The room was sparsely decorated, but there was what appeared to be an old mattress on the floor and a coat closet in the far corner. "Ziva." Quickly, he holstered his gun and rushed to her side. She flinched upon hearing his footsteps, and tried to pull away. "Ziva, it's okay. It's me. It's Tim." Slowly, her eyes began to open, and she looked up at him.

"Tim?" He nodded, taking her face in his hand.

"Yeah."

"You died. In... fire..." She whispered, her voice weak. He shook his head.

"No, no, Ziva. We got out. The girls and I got out. We're okay. I promise." She searched his gaze, but not believeing it. After a moment, he leaned down, pressing a kiss to her lips. When he finally pulled away, she whispered,

"I thought... Reynolds said..."

"It's not true. I managed to get the girls out before it exploded. They're both fine- the RCMP are watching over them. I came to get you."

"Why?" She breathed, tears in her eyes.

"Because you're my partner. I've got your six." He replied, kissing her gently one last time before working on her restraints. Once she was free, he helped her to her feet. "Now let's get you out of here." He wrapped his arms tight around her waist, helping her to the doorway. As they made it out to the hall, Tim stopped, holding his breath. "Shh. Ziva, hold still." They stood where they were, listening. When whatever Tim had heard stopped, they continued on.

"Just where the hell do you think you're going?" He looked up, to see Reynolds, making his way towards them, gun aimed.

Tim pushed Ziva to the ground, landing on top of her and holding her down as bullets flew over their ears. He glanced down at her. "The next room, now, Ziva!"

She did as ordered, managing to get to the closest room, slamming the door. As Tim stood, Reynold's raised his arm to fire, but Tim managed to knock it out of his hands. Thank God for Ziva and their MMA lessons on the weekends. Tim quickly holstered his gun, grabbing hold of the man. The next few minutes passed in a blur of noise and dust and fighting, with Tim finally gaining the upper hand. A shot rang out, and he looked down, to see Reynolds laying on the ground, blood quickly beginning to color his shirt.

Ziva, upon hearing the gunshot, pulled the door opened and stumbled out. Reynolds lay on the floor at Tim's feet, bleeding from a gunshot wound. Tim quickly pulled his phone out, handing it to Ziva. "Hit the record button, Ziva." She did as told, mirroring Tim as he knelt down, asking, "What was so important that you had to kidnap two innocent girls?"

Reynolds turned his head to face Tim, and in a gasp, said, "Couldn't have my brother-in-law going to prison."

"Prison? What for?"

"War crimes... Ted... rape of Iraqi women... firing on... peaceful protesting Iraqi students... poison gas... couldn't let him... go to prison..." Tim reached down, grabbing the front of his shirt, his hands becoming stained with blood.

"You wanted to frame Samuels... marine buddies?" Reynolds nodded. "So you kidnapped the girls and killed their mother to get Samuels to confess to war crimes?"

"Yes." Reynolds choked out. With one last shuddering breath, his eyes closed. Ziva looked up at Tim as she stopped recording.

"Call RCMP. Tell them we have Reynolds."

It was a slow trek down to the waiting ambulances. The body had already been removed, the crime scene secured, and Tim and Ziva's statements taken. He kept his arm tight around her waist as they moved. Eventually, they made it outside, finding themselves swarmed by reporters and police alike. After being checked out, they were shuffled back to the station, to be reunited with the girls.

Elizabeth looked up as the door opened. They'd been waiting for Tim to return, and as soon as she saw a head of sandy hair, she rushed off, Amy following. "You're back!" The child threw her arms around Tim, and he knelt down, grunting softly as he did so, to meet her gaze.

"I promised, didn't I?" He asked, and she nodded, wrapping him in a hug.

"Did you tell her?" She asked softly, pulling away. Tim bit his lip, shaking a head.

"I didn't get a chance."

"Did not get a chance to tell me what?" Ziva asked, as Tim stood. She looked from Elizabeth to Tim and back. Amy clung to her legs, holding tight to her.

"He loves you." Amy said, looking up at Ziva. The former Mossad agent glanced down at the child, before turning back to her partner. Tim wouldn't meet her gaze.

"But he's afraid you don't love him back." Elizabeth added, watching the couple closely. It was evident that they were in love with each other, and the fact that she and her sister had to try to push the two agents together wasn't lost on the child; she was a very smart little girl, after all.

"Tim? Is this true?" He swallowed, nodding slowly.

"Yes, Ziva. It is." Taking a deep breath, he turned away, waiting for the rejection to come. But all she did, was lay a finger under his chin and lift his face to hers. When they locked eyes, hers were shining with unshed tears. As she took his face in her hands and brought her lips to his, she whispered,

"I love you, too."