Here's chapter 12, way earlier than I expected! Enjoy!

Twelve

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ziva asked as she parked her car outside the courthouse the next morning. Tony had managed to convince her that it would be good for him to go hear Ethan Marshall's testimony.

Tony nodded. "I have to Zi. I need to know." He told her quietly.

Ziva reached out to take his hand. "If it is too much, you tell me, and we leave. Alright?" She said.

Tony nodded. "I know, don't worry." He said, leaning over to kiss his girlfriend's cheek gently.

Ziva nodded. "Alright. We should go, we are late." She told him.

Tony took a deep breath and reached out to open his door.

The couple stepped out of Ziva's Mini and stood silently together for a moment, looking up at the large white building that awaited them. Ziva squeezed Tony's hand.

"Come on." She said softly as she started to walk toward the steps.

Tony followed her, slowly but surely. They stepped through the front doors into the large foyer and headed for the elevator.

The elevator doors slid open on the third floor and they stepped out. Ziva led Tony down the hallway toward the court room. They stopped once again outside the doors. They both took a deep breath, and Ziva reached out to pull the door open quietly.

They stepped into the courtroom and took two empty seats in the back of the gallery behind Jordan.

Nobody noticed them enter, they were too focused on the witness.

Tony gripped Ziva's hand tightly when his gaze landed on Ethan Marshall, the man who had held him down during his attack.

Marshall seemed to not have noticed them enter either, he was looking at Jordan.

"You took a dishonorable discharge, fifteen years in prison, and agreed to testify today to avoid a criminal trial. This criminal trial, in fact, is that correct?" Jordan asked.

Marshall nodded glumly. "Yes."

"So, you plead guilty and admitted in open court to the second-degree sexual abuse of NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo?" Jordan asked.

"Yes, I did." Marshall said.

Tony squeezed Ziva's hand, and the Israeli slid closer to him on the bench, wrapping one arm around his waist so she could rub his back gently.

"Are you alright?" She whispered.

Tony nodded silently, never taking his eyes off Marshall in the witness stand.

"And you had an accomplice in this crime?" Jordan asked.

Marshall shrugged. "Well, I believe I was the accomplice, but yes there was a second party involved."

"Who was that second party?" Jordan asked.

Marshall sighed. "The defendant. Maxwell Clemens."

"How do you know mister Clemens exactly?" Jordan asked.

"We were roommates in college, we stayed friends." Marshall told him.

"Fair enough, so mister Marshall, can you begin to walk us through the night of August twenty-first?" Jordan asked.

Marshall nodded. "I was with Max, and he told me that he had a friend who was going to pay him to make something bad happen to some cop, and he asked me if I wanted in."

Ziva could feel Tony starting to shake slightly and she tightened her grip on him, letting out a small sigh of relief when he leaned some of his weight into her.

"What did you take 'something bad' to mean?" Jordan asked curiously.

Marshall shrugged. "I thought we would just rough him up a bit, scare him." He told Jordan.

"What happened next?" Jordan asked.

"We followed agent DiNozzo from his house to Pyramid, on U Street, and we waited in the parking lot. We saw agent DiNozzo get into a fight in the parking lot… well not really a fight, the other guy ran off after one swing… Agent DiNozzo started walking toward his car, and Max went after him and I followed." Marshall told the court.

Tony stiffened when he heard that they had followed him from his house. Ziva looked over at him. His face was white, and he was bouncing his leg quickly to try and stop himself from running. She knew he wouldn't be able to go back to his apartment after hearing that. He wouldn't be able to feel safe there again.

"Why?" Jordan asked.

Marshall sighed. "I wanted the money… needed it actually… gambling debts." He mumbled.

Jordan nodded. "What happened next mister Marshall?" He asked.

"Max told me to grab him, and he kicked his legs out from under him. We dragged him behind the dumpster, and I held him down while Max kicked him." Marshall said.

"How did this situation go from beating up a cop to rape?" Jordan asked.

Marshall shrugged. "I really don't know. One minute Max was kicking agent DiNozzo, and the next, agent DiNozzo's clothes were ripped off and Max had his own pants down to his knees."

Tony took a deep breath.

"Why didn't you stop him?" Jordan asked.

Marshal sighed. "It was either do this and get paid, or don't do it and get my kneecaps busted." He stated bluntly.

Jordan nodded. "So while mister Clemens was raping a federal agent, a man, a person, you just held him down and watched?" He asked, turning to face the jury.

Marshall nodded. "Yes, I did, and I shouldn't have. I was a soldier, I should have held myself to a higher standard, and I am so sorry I didn't." He said, looking down at his hands in his lap as tears welled up in his eyes.

Ziva looked up at Tony when she felt some of the tension leave his body, and he relaxed a bit. She pulled Tony close to her as she watched him watch Marshall.

"What happened after mister Clemens finished?" Jordan asked.

Marshall took a deep breath. "He pulled his pants up, and we walked away, right down the street like nothing had ever happened." He told Jordan.

Jordan nodded. "Thank you for your honestly mister Marshall. I have no further questions." He announced to the court. "Your witness." He said to Scott Lincoln as he walked past his table.

Lincoln stood up and walked toward the witness stand.

Tony turned to look at Ziva. "Can we go?" He asked quickly.

Ziva nodded sharply and stood and, trying to draw the least amount of attention possible, she led Tony out of the courtroom.

As soon as the courtroom doors closed behind them and they were safely in the hallway, Tony bent over, resting his hands on his knees for support, like he had just tired himself out running a marathon.

Ziva stood beside him, rubbing his back gently.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly.

Tony nodded, taking a deep breath before standing up straight. "Yeah, let's just get out of here." He said.

Ziva reached for his hand, tangling their fingers together. "Alright." She said.

They started to walk toward the elevator when Ziva stopped short. Tony turned to look at her.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

She pulled him toward a bulletin board, positioning him so his face couldn't be seen.

"The man who is about to walk into the courtroom. Do you know him?" She asked quietly.

Tony waited for said man to walk behind them and he glanced over at him. He recognized him, he just wasn't sure from where.

"I think so… why?" He asked after he had entered the courtroom.

"He came at me when I was leaving yesterday." Ziva told him as she led him toward the elevator.

"He what?!" Tony asked, completely ready to turn around and go after him. "What happened? Are you okay?" He asked.

Ziva hit the call button for the elevator and turned to face Tony.

"I am fine." She told him. "Really it was no big deal. He said a few things and I put him in his place."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Tony asked as they stepped into the elevator.

"I meant to, but I didn't want to worry you." She told him.

"What happened?" Tony asked as the doors slid open on the main floor.

Ziva sighed. "It was really nothing Tony. He came up behind me, asked me if I was having fun protecting you… I think he called you a pansy?" She said unsurely. She shook her head. "I pinned him against the wall, and security came. That's it. It was all over in less than a minute." She told him.

Tony squeezed her hand gently. "Tell me next time. I'm not worried, I know you can take care of yourself, I just want to know."

Ziva nodded. "Alright." She said, kissing Tony's cheek softly.

XXXXX

Tony walked out of the bedroom in his favorite sweats and sat down on the couch beside Ziva. Her arms opened to him and he leaned into her.

"I have a question for you." Ziva told him.

Tony looked up at her. "Shoot."

"Will you move in with me?" Ziva asked, biting her bottom lip nervously.

Tony looked surprised.

Ziva immediately tried to backpedal. "I mean, we have been practically living together for-"

Tony sat up a bit and pressed his lips her hers gently. "Yeah, I'll move in with you." He told her as he pulled away.

Ziva smiled. "Okay. We don't have to live here, it's kind of small for both of our things, we could find a bigger place." She told him.

Tony nodded. "I like your place." He told her. "And if we can't make it work, we can find something else."

Ziva kissed his forehead softly. "I love you."

Tony's grip around her waist tightened. "I love you too Zi."

Ziva smiled brightly and relaxed into the couch. The couple sat silently for a few minutes before Tony spoke.

"I want you to do something for me." Tony said softly.

Ziva looked down at him. "What?" She asked curiously.

"I want you to teach me to know if I'm being followed." Tony told her.

Ziva's brow furrowed. "You're a fantastic agent, Tony, you already know how to do that." She said.

Tony shook his head. "Not like you do…" He told her. "I'm scared Zi. They followed me… from my house, and I didn't even notice…" He said softly.

Ziva nodded. "Okay. I will teach you." She told him. She had absolutely no idea how to do it. She wanted to help him feel safe again, but she didn't want to make him paranoid about being followed.

"All it really is is being observant, aware of your surroundings." She started.

XXXXX

"I don't think I want to go back until the verdict is read." Tony admitted during supper that evening.

Ziva nodded. "That is perfectly fine Tony." She told him. "Do you remember who that man was?" She asked.

Tony sighed and shook his head. "No, I don't. I know I know him from somewhere though." He told her.

Ziva nodded. "It will come eventually." She reassured him.

Tony nodded. "I hope so. It's gonna bug me until it does."

"Just try not to think about it too hard, it might make it harder to remember." Ziva said.

"Yeah." Tony agreed. "My lease is up at the end of next month." He told Ziva.

Ziva smiled. "Does that mean I should be making room for your things?" She asked.

Tony laughed lightly. "Yeah." He said simply.

Ziva nodded. "Alright." She said, looking around her apartment. "Maybe we should look for a bigger place." She said after a moment.

"Are you sure?" Tony asked.

He knew he wanted to move in with Ziva, but getting a place together, having both of their names on the list was a big step. That wasn't to say he didn't want to take that step, they had known each other for five years now, and they knew each other better than anyone… yeah, actually, he did want to take that step. More than he had realized when she had offered the idea earlier in the day.

Ziva nodded. "Yeah. Both of our lives won't fit in here… I mean we will both have to cut out a few things, furniture and such…"

"Actually, you won't have to make room for my furniture." He told her, laughing lightly. "My apartment was offered furnished, and honestly, none of it is even close to comfortable." He told her.

Ziva laughed. "Well alright then." She said. She finished off the last bite of her rice and reached for Tony's already empty plate. "Are you done?" She asked.

Tony nodded. "Yeah, I'll do dishes." He told her, standing up.

"You wash, I'll dry?" Ziva said.

Tony smiled and reached his hand out to help pull her off the floor. "That works."