Alrighty fellow Tiva fans, before you get to this chapter, please take a gander at this:
Spoilers for the season seven premiere have been leaked out onto the internet, and according to NCIS Executive Producer Shane Brennan, the first three episodes of season seven will have Tony and Ziva's relationship "evolve rapidly." :) Good news? I would like to think so!!
Also, season seven starts September 22. Mark your calenders!!!
EDIT: Sorry for the multiple updates on this chapter! I've written this without a beta, and as I read it, I realize, "Wow, I suck!" In saying this, I hope everyone's in character in this chappie! This is the last update, I promise!
Disclaimer: NCIS not mine.
Star of David
By doodlegirll
***
Chapter Ten
At first he was unsure where he was. His vision was blurred with pain, most of it on his right side. He heard beeping, but he wasn't sure where it was coming from. The room was dimly lit, the walls a pale off white. At least it was as blinding as wherever he had been a moment ago…
He felt pressure on his left hand, and his eyes flicked towards it to find that it was being held by two smaller hands. A small body was sitting in a chair close to his bed – his hospital bed, he realized – hunched over to where dark hair shielded the face from view.
But Tony knew who it was, even with his mind as fuzzy as it was.
He tried to open his mouth to say her name, but his throat was sore and raw. He remembered the screaming, the immense pain, and suddenly all he cared about what if Ziva was okay. He knew that she must be, since she was here, holding his hand.
While he had been asleep, he was so sure he had heard her, heard her talking to him. He couldn't connect what all she had said; the words were jumbled and confusing, and many were not the whole of the conversation.
It took him a moment to realize that she was crying. She was crying, and speaking in hushed tones to him in mixed English and Hebrew.
"Please, wake up soon. Ani ochevet otcha, Tony. I cannot lose you." She whispered.
Ani ochevet otcha.
Tony didn't know much Hebrew, but he knew what that meant.
He finally was able to get one tiny little sound out, a low groan as he inhaled deeply.
Ziva's head snapped up like a rocket taking off, and found him moving, his eyes still closed.
"Tony?" She whispered, almost afraid to ask in case her eyes were playing a trick on her. "Tony?"
His eyes opened, and he turned his head to look at her. A small smile played on his features.
"Miss me, sweetcheeks?" He managed to get out, his words a little slurred from all the medication.
Ziva's brown eyes were the most beautiful things to wake up to, he reasoned. Especially when they lit up like they did when she saw that he was awake.
"Tony!" She breathed. "My God, Tony!"
One of her hands left his to gently touch his face, make sure he was real, make sure that she was not dreaming.
He squeezed her hand, assuring her he was really there.
"Hey, Zi."
Within seconds tears began to stream down Ziva's cheeks and she buried her face on the side of his bed.
Tony was unsure what to do. His drugged mind wouldn't allow him to think very hard, or do very much, but he knew he had to comfort her, somehow.
He lifted his hand to gentle stroke her hair.
"Sh, Zi, it's alright." He murmured. "It's just me."
He couldn't possibly understand what this had done to her. He could never really understand how she had felt since he had been thrown into that cell. And now that he was awake, and alive, it was finally over. Finally, finally, it was over.
"Tony…" She heaved. "Tony…"
"I'm right here." He slurred.
She lifted her head to look at him, and she smiled.
"You sound like a sluggard." She said.
Tony's eyebrows crinkled.
"'M not a bum." He said, and Ziva chuckled.
He blinked, and as he did, the blurriness began to clear, slowly but surely.
"Where am I?" He asked.
"Ichilov Hospital, Tel Aviv." She answered. He looked at her, confused.
"Tel Aviv?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yes. We had to fly you out of Mogadishu to…" She swallowed the memory like a bitter pill. "To save your life."
The screaming. Other memories began to fit together, like the many pieces of a puzzle. He saw Amir flick out a gun, aiming it at Ziva's head. He remembered the panic, the sudden adrenaline rush despite his pain as he grabbed Ziva and pushed her to the floor just as Amir pulled the trigger. He remembered the feeling of the bullet entering his chest, falling to the floor. For a brief moment he heard shouting, cursing, and shuffling. He heard gunshots, and he knew, he just knew that Ziva was dead…
And then she was hovering over him, pressing down as hard as she could on his chest. God, it hurt…
"How long?" He asked. "How long have I…been out?"
Ziva looked at the clock on the wall.
"Almost sixteen hours." She said.
"What happened?"
"Amir shot you." She said. "And then Gibbs showed up. He and McGee had followed you here using your cell phone. It was not completely destroyed when Amir crushed it, and after Amir shot you, they heard the gunshots and found us."
"What happened to Amir?"
"He is dead." Ziva said. "Along with Tamul and Jamid."
His still slightly glassy eyes dawned in realization.
"You shot them?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"Where's Gibbs?"
Ziva opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment, one of the night nurses walked in to check on them. Seeing Tony awake and coherent, talking to Ziva, she quickly crossed the room to press a button on the wall to call the doctors in.
Not a minute later, the doctor that Ziva had spoken to earlier came rushing in, a male nurse at her heels. They pushed between her and Tony, and she let go of his hand and stood back, looking slightly peeved.
"You gave us quite a scare there, Agent DiNozzo." The doctor told him as she carefully examined him. "You almost died."
He winced, gritting his teeth, hissing in pain as they moved him too much. He screwed his eyes closed tightly, and his heart rate increased rapidly.
The doctor looked alarmed.
"Joseph," she said to the male nurse. "Give him another dose of morphine, and a dose of sleeping meds, too."
Joseph nodded and went to cross the room to prepare the drugs.
"No." Tony said through his clenched teeth. "No more drugs."
The doctor looked at him as though he had three heads.
"You are delirious, Agent DiNozzo." She said. "You have just suffered a traumatic incident."
"'M not delirious." He said. "I don't want any more drugs. I wanna talk."
"But you are in pain…"
"I wanna talk to Ziva." He said, opening his eyes to look at the doctor. "No more drugs."
The male nurse came up behind the doctor, ready to administer the drugs into Tony's IV, but the doctor shook her head.
"No, let him talk." She said. "It might do him good."
Tony looked past the doctor and nurses at Ziva. He held his hand out to her, and the doctor stepped aside for her. She took a few steps forward, taking his outstretched hand.
The erratic beeping from Tony's heart monitor began to slow back to a comfortable level.
The doctor turned to her nurses. "Give them a few minutes." She said. "We'll be outside."
Ziva nodded her thanks, and the doctor left the room. She turned her attention back to Tony.
"What is wrong?" She asked.
"D'they hurt you?" He asked, and she knew he was referring to Amir.
She shook her head.
"No." She said. "They were dead before they could try."
"You shot them?"
"Yes."
"Whose gun?"
"Tamul's."
He looked disappointed. "I was hoping you'd use Amir's." He said. "The bastard."
Ziva smiled and gently reached out to touch the bandaging on his chest.
"You almost died." She said quietly. "I was afraid I was going to lose you."
"I'm not going anywhere." She noted that his tone of voice was beginning to get stronger, but it still sounded weak and lethargic. "I heard you talking to me."
She felt her heart begin to pound. What all had he heard?
"Did you mean it?" He asked.
"Mean what?" She tried to feign innocence.
"What you said." He said. "When you said you loved me in Hebrew?"
Did she detect a hint of hope in his voice?
She was almost unsure what to say. A part of her wanted to scream "Yes!" while the other wanted to begin crying again. Of course she loved him. And those eyes had told her, back on that ship's floor, that he felt the same.
"Yes." She said after a minute. "Yes, I did."
He smiled, and sighed. "Good." He said. He closed his eyes, suddenly very tired, despite his long nap.
She rubbed his hand soothingly. "Sleep now." She said.
His tired gaze rested on her. "Don't wanna."
The doctor reentered the room.
"I was hoping I could speak to Agent DiNozzo for a moment?" She said. "To explain what has happened."
Ziva nodded, and moved to step back when Tony's grip on her hand tightened.
"Stay here?" He said. "Please?"
"I will not be far, Tony." She assured him. "I am going to call Gibbs and tell him you are awake. I will just be outside."
"Okay." Tony said, letting go of her.
She smiled at him reassuringly as she left the room, allowing the doctor and nurses to swarm him like a pack of vultures. She stepped out into the hallway, pulling the phone Abby had thrown at her, dialing Gibbs' number.
After two rings, the phone was picked up.
"Yeah, Gibbs." Gibbs' slightly groggy voice said.
"Gibbs." She said. "He is awake."
"What?" Gibbs still did not sound fully awake.
"Tony." Ziva said. "He is awake."
"What? When?" He began to sound more alert.
"A few minutes ago." She answered. "He is talking to the doctors now."
"I'll be right over." With that, Gibbs hung up the phone, and Ziva turned to go back into the room
***
Gibbs quickly threw back his covers, setting his feet on the cool plush carpet of the hotel room he was sharing with McGee.
He crossed the dark room, grabbing his jacket from the back of a chair, slipping it onto his shoulders. He holstered his gun, fidgeting with it in the dark.
He heard the rustle of covers behind him, and McGee's head poked out of the cocoon.
"Boss?" He asked. "What are you going?" He looked at the clock. "It's past midnight."
"I know, McGee." Gibbs said. "I'm going to the hospital."
McGee flicked on the light beside him. "Is something wrong?"
Gibbs finished gathering his things and headed for the door.
"Tony's awake." He said. "Ziva called."
"Do you want me to come?"
"No, stay and get some sleep." Gibbs said. "You could use it."
McGee half smiled, and nodded. "Kay, boss. Call if something comes up."
Gibbs walked out the door, closing it as quietly as he could.
He walked down the hall, past the other doors that housed the rest of his team. Vance and Ducky had bunked together, and Abby had gotten her room, which she said she would share with Ziva if she ever chose to spend the night at the hotel instead of at the hospital. Gibbs suspected that now that Tony was awake, that wasn't going to happen any time soon.
Just as he passed Abby's room, the door flew open, and Abby's pigtailed head poked out.
"Gibbs!" She said. "Where are you going?"
"The hospital." He said.
Abby stepped out. "Is something wrong?"
"Tony's awake."
Abby smiled and put her hands to her mouth to contain the squeal of happiness that threatened to escape.
"When? Can we see him? Is he in pain? When can he go home? Is he talking?" She took Gibbs by the shoulders. "Has he kissed Ziva yet?!"
Gibbs gently removed her hands.
"He woke up a few minutes ago, and I think you should wait til tomorrow to see him, Abs. Yes, he's in pain, and I don't know when he can go home. Yes, he's talking." He turned her around, steering her back towards her room. "And no, I don't think he's kissed her yet, Abby."
Abby turned around, placing her hands on his hips. "Tell him that I said to hurry up!" She said. "He'll know what you mean."
Gibbs turned to walk away. "Get some sleep, Abs." He said. "No more caffeine."
"Yes sir!" He heard Abby say, and then he heard her door click shut. Smiling, he pressed the button to the elevator, and headed out towards the road to grab a late night cab.
***
"Your right palm was slashed, and we had to give you thirty two stitches." The doctor rambled on Tony's list of injuries. "But it was your chest we were most worried about. We accessed your records and found that you are at risk of developing pneumonia because of a case of Y. pestis you had a few years back. You'll need to take it easy when you get home."
"When exactly am I going home, doc?"
"I'd say you should stay here another week, at most. Just until you're strong enough to move around. And when you do get home, I want you to stick to the easy jobs for six months. I'll let you decide when you want to return to work, but you take it easy, got it?"
Tony groaned and sank his head back into the pillow. "Six months?"
The doctor nodded. "Six months."
"But that's like forever…for me, at least." Tony complained.
The doctor smiled sympathetically. "Sorry, Agent DiNozzo. That's how it is."
She looked towards the door, and Ziva came back in. Tony lifted his head from the pillow, grinning at her. The doctor noted the look between the two, and decided it was best to give the two some more time alone.
"I'll come back in an hour, when we'll give you your sleeping medication. Does that sound fine to you, Agent DiNozzo?"
"One hour. Got it." Tony said.
The doctor left the room, leaving the two alone.
Ziva returned to her post at his bedside, and he turned his body as best he could to look at her.
"What did Gibbs say?" He asked.
"That he is on his way here." Ziva answered. "He was worried about you. We all were."
"Wow, the boss actually said he was worried about me?"
"Well, maybe he did not say it outright, but yes, he was."
"Was I really that bad off?"
Ziva looked at him, trying to keep her face emotionless. Images of him bloody, half dead in her arms flashed in front of her eyes, and she shuddered, closing her eyes, shielding her brown orbs from him as she tried desperately to make the memories go away. She was already tortured enough with the memories of the past month; wasn't that enough?
"I thought you were going to die, right there in front of me." She whispered. "I was afraid that I had lost you. I have lost many in my life – my mother, my sister, my brother – and I did not want to lose you as well." She avoided looking at him. "I did not want you to die before I had a chance to tell you how I really felt, how I have always felt about you. I hated Amir for what he had done to me, but what he did to you made me hate him more. The second he pulled that trigger, and shot you, when I saw you fall, I hated him more than I have ever hated anyone. I hated him for hurting you, for using you. I hated him for taking you away from me."
"God, Zi, I didn't know…"
"You could not have known." She said. "And I am sorry for the way I treated you before, when we were in Tel Aviv last time. I should not have reacted the way I did."
"I killed someone close to you." Tony said. "You were reacting the way you should've."
"But I did not." Ziva said. "I was confused, Tony. My life had become a tangled web of lies so fast that I did not know how to handle it. I felt as though everyone had turned against me. I felt that you had betrayed me by getting involved with my life. I knew Michael had lied to me by planning to kill me. I knew that my father had ordered it. I knew that you were only trying to protect me, and I should have listened to you when you offered an explanation.
"I wanted to know why. Why had my life taken such a turn in such a small amount of time? How could I have let this happen? I was angry with myself more than anyone for not seeing it sooner. I loved you, but I tried to convince myself that I did not, that you did not love me, that Michael was the man I loved. But I always knew, deep inside of me, that he was not. But even though I knew he had stabbed me in the back, I did not want him to die. I have known him my whole life, and he was just as much a brother to me as Ari was, or McGee is. I had created a fantasy, and when I saw that reality overshadowed it, I was not happy."
She finally made eye contact.
"Remember when you asked me if I had ever lied to someone I loved?"
Tony nodded.
"You said that no one ever survived to find out."
She sighed. "Yes." She said. "And I lied to you, and I almost lost you for it."
She suddenly stood to her feet, walking over to the window to stare out at the stars once again. A sliver of a moon had risen above the horizon, and it appeared to be imitating the Cheshire cat with its cheesy smile, the stars its eyes and nose. Ziva crossed her arms, her back to Tony, refusing to let him see her cry.
"Ziva." He called in a soft voice. "Ziva, please look at me."
She brushed away the tears and faced him. He held his hand out to her again, and from a distance, Ziva could see the bruises that covered his body clearly. Dark purple blotches covered the bare skin his bandages did not hide from view, the rest of the surrounding areas a dull, pale yellow. He still looked incredibly weak, and Ziva could tell that even lifting his good arm was a challenge; he was, by reaching out to her, asking her to be his strength and be there for him.
He had come to rescue her, and nearly gotten himself killed in the process.
She owed him that.
She went to him, taking his hand, sitting once again into the chair.
"I've lied to you for a long time." He admitted. "So I guess you could say we're in the same boat. I wanted to save you; not to save my sorry-ass conscience, but because I love you so much, Zi."
She smiled, and for many moments they said nothing. They just enjoyed being together, having each other.
"Does it hurt?" She finally asked.
"What?"
"Your arm. Your chest." She said, nodding.
He moved his shoulder, instantly wishing he hadn't.
"Yeah." He said. "Like hell."
"You will have to go to therapy when you get home." She said.
At the word home, Tony looked as though he were somewhere else, somewhere far away. He finally spoke.
"Where's home to you, Ziva?" He asked.
"What do you mean?"
"What are you going to do?"
"Gibbs asked me to return to his team." Ziva said. "And I agreed."
Tony's face brightened as he smiled.
"Does that mean you're going to be my partner again?"
"Yes, if you will have me."
"I wouldn't have anyone else."
She laughed. "Gibbs told me that you put two potential agents' files through a grater."
"Shredder, Zee-vah." He said. "And yeah, I did. They weren't you."
"You could have chosen one of them. I'm sure they were good agents."
"They weren't you." He repeated. "And I knew, call it a gut feeling, that you would come back, when you were ready."
"I had a confrontation with my father." She informed him.
He looked worried. "What happened?"
"I told him that I would not be returning to Mossad." Ziva said, keeping most of the details to herself. "And I told him that I knew of what he had done to me, and that he was not my father anymore."
Tony winced. "That was harsh, Zi."
"He deserved it." Her tone of voice was hard. "And I do not regret what I said to him."
"I paid him a visit myself while I was here three days ago." He said. "I wormed information out of him, and he didn't like it too much."
"There is little my father does like."
"What's one thing?"
Ziva thought a minute.
"Believe it or not, kittens." She said.
Tony's laugh echoed through the small room like thunder rolling off of hills.
"Big Bad Mossad Daddy, Kitten Lover." He joked. "Now that is funny!"
Ziva soon joined in with his laughter, and she found herself beginning to feel more and more like herself, more and more like the Ziva she had left behind in DC. She slowly began to feel that everything was beginning to go back to normal, if there was ever a such thing.
She suddenly found her lips pressing his, gently, but firmly. At first he seemed surprised, not only at the sudden action but that it was she that had initiated it, but he soon found himself returning it, passion sparking with each passing second. His hand left his side, and found its way to her cheek, and her one of her small, tanned hands came up to entangle her fingers with his.
Nothing would ever mean more to the two of them than this moment, right now.
Finally, after years of incessant flirting, teasing, and spit balls, the feelings they had tried to keep under lock and key were out and freed from their chains.
The kiss was broken by the sound of someone clearing their throat from the front of the room. They turned, startled, to look at the doorway, finding Gibbs standing there, a satisfied grin on his face.
"It's about time." He said. "Maybe now Abby will stop threatening you two behind your backs."
Tony and Ziva glanced at each other, unsure of what to say.
Gibbs walked forward.
"How're you feeling, DiNozzo?" He asked.
Tony made a face. "Is that a trick question, boss?"
Gibbs chuckled. "Good." He said. He eyed their joined hands. "Do I need to go over Rule Twelve again?"
"Um, you just said…" Tony started.
"Can it, DiNozzo." Gibbs said, not unkindly. "Just keep it out of the office, got it?"
"Got it, boss." They both said in unison.
"Good to see you awake, Tony." Gibbs said. "We were getting worried for a while there."
"Yeah, Ziva told me." Tony said, grinning up at him. "Come on and admit it."
"Admit what, DiNozzo?"
"That you were worried about me."
Gibbs' face remained straight. "You knew better than to die on us, DiNozzo." He said. "I never gave you permission to."
Tony's face fell. "Right." He glanced at Ziva.
"Ziver, Abby told me to tell you that you're welcome to the extra bed in her hotel room if you want it." Gibbs said to Ziva. "And I think you might want to take her up on that offer."
"But Gibbs, I— "
"That wasn't a request, David." He said. "You can't spend every second of every day here. You need to stay active and get your strength back up. Besides, Abby could use the company."
Ziva smiled. "Alright." She said. "I will."
"Good. You'd better get your butt there now and get some sleep. She was still hyped up on caffeine when I left. I'll stay here with Tony." Gibbs looked back at his agent. "That alright with you, DiNozzo?"
"Yes, boss." Tony said. "Fine by me."
Gibbs nodded. "The cab is waiting down in the parking lot, Ziva." He said. "It'll take you back to the hotel."
Ziva gave him a nod, turning back to Tony.
"I will be back tomorrow, yes?" She whispered as she kissed his forehead.
"I'll be waiting." He said. "Night, Ziva."
She squeezed his hand before nodding once again to Gibbs, grabbing the duffle bag Abby had brought her from the floor, and walking out to the elevator.
As the doors closed, she smiled.
