AN: Here's the next chapter!!! Thanks to all who reviewed: GardenRiver, zats, Mirthless Laughter, animallover12, Ashes of Fire, M E Wofford, ncistiva, and Jen-NCIS-Lover!

Abby

I can't do this anymore! Too many hospitals and deaths and missing people and injuries and it's just too much! Tony sick with the plague and then Kate was killed by that crazy terrorist and then Gibbs in the hospital cause of a bomb from another terrorist, then Gibbs left us, then Ziva was accused of murder and then she and Gibbs were almost blown up. Then we thought Tony was blown up by a bomb, and then Gibbs' daughter's friend was kidnapped and Gibbs and Tony got into trouble there and Gibbs almost died, then Jimmy got shot at and then the director died and the team was split up and Ziva got into a bomb blast, and then Timmy was stuck in a prison with a riot, Ducky got stabbed, and Ziva left us and then was captured and totally hurt by those guys, and she's in the hospital now and I don't know how she's doing but it can't be good because hospitals are never good, and she was unconscious and I don't even know if she woke up yet, but I just can't see her yet, not until I know how she really is --- There's Gibbs!

I fly over to his arms and bury my face in his chest, crying like a little child, and I would've thought I already cried out all my tears in Tim's arms but I still have more in me. Timmy and Palmer were so sweet to stay out in the hall with me but even as comforting as they are, it's just not the same as Gibbs. So we're standing here in the hallway, me in his arms and he strokes my hair and rubs my back, just letting me cry it all out. I was doing okay, really I was, until we got outside of the room and then it's like I just froze or something.

I finally get myself back under control and I step back just enough to look at my silver haired fox. He looks so old and worried; it makes me even more worried about him…and about Ziva. "How is she, Gibbs? Really?" my voice cracks but I don't care.

He gently runs his hand across my cheek, wiping away some tears. "Not too good, Abbs," he pauses, then continues, "Let's join the others. I've got updates and information to tell you all."

He takes my arm and leads me down the hallway, the others following closely in our wake, till we reach the chairs in the waiting area. We all sit down and he starts talking about Ziva's condition.

I'm trying to focus but it's just so hard. Lots of broken bones, dislocated shoulder and knee, the many stitches she needed for all the deep cuts... it's just too much to take in and I zone out a little. Just because I don't work in the field doesn't mean I haven't seen a lot of nasty things, and I get more than my share of hinky and horrible stuff to process. And of course, I see distorted bodies in autopsy all the time. I doubt Ziva can look worse than some of those gruesome cases, but still, this is personal. I mean, I know Ziva – she's my friend, after all, and I can't just think about this dispassionately. I tune back in to hear Gibbs talking about how she freaked out this morning and went all crazy on the doctors and nurses. I can so see Ziva doing that! I think about how Tony calls her his ninja at times and suddenly a picture of Ziva going all ninja appears in my head. Without warning, a giggle escapes my mouth and in the next moment I see the others look at me strangely. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to…" my voice trails off I feel myself getting red. What's wrong with me? I know that was inappropriate but I just can't seem to control myself or my emotions right now. And just as quickly as it came, the feeling of mirth is gone and I realize that in its place is a deep knot in my stomach at the thought of Ziva feeling so threatened that she'd attack those trying to help her. Now I'm even more scared of seeing her, cause what if I hurt her or scare her in some way? Gibbs turns to me and wipes my face again – I didn't even realize I was crying! – and he gives me a hug. I lean into Gibbs' embrace, needing his comfort more than ever right now.

Gibbs is still talking and now he's saying something about hotels. What do hotels have to do with Ziva freaking out? Get a grip on yourself. You need to pay attention. "What did you say about a hotel, Gibbs?" I ask.

I know he's gotta be frustrated, so I'm surprised when instead of snapping at me, he patiently answers me, "I got us two hotel rooms to stay in. A single room for you, the other room is for the rest of us."

"Um…si—I mean, Agent Gibbs…um, well…"

The look of terror on Palmer's face is priceless and matches Timmy's face perfectly, and I bite back another giggle. Tony lifts his head. "Afraid of close quarters, Palmer?" he teases halfheartedly.

Gibbs slaps Tony gently on the back of the head and growls, "DiNozzo. Get your mind out of the gutter. I figure we'll be taking shifts staying at the hospital and sleeping at the hotel, so no need to get a lot of rooms we won't be using anyways. If we need another, we can always get one more."

Both younger guys relax and Tony goes back to staring morosely at his hands in his lap. Gibbs continues, "I spoke with Director Vance this morning and he has given us all two weeks off. After that…" he pauses and takes a sip of his coffee, "well, he'll need us back, but we'll wait until then to figure things out."

I hear what he doesn't say – that nobody's sure what's gonna happen with Ziva in the next two weeks. I hope she'll be out of the hospital, but what if she isn't, then who's gonna stay with her? We can't just leave her here!

"One more thing," Gibbs breaks into my thoughts again. "The director passed on some information to me earlier. As you know, when the SEALs rescued Ziva, the marines, and the other Mossad officers from that terrorist camp, NCIS and Mossad were contacted. Mossad responded back, but there was no word directly from Director David."

"Director David… you mean, Ziva's father?" McGee clarifies.

"Yes, my dear boy," Ducky responds and turns to Gibbs. "You know, Jethro, I was wondering earlier why her father had not bothered to contact us or try to get information about Ziva. Such a puzzling thing, really—"

"Duck," he interrupts, "Vance got word this morning. Eli David is dead."

AN#2: McGee is up next...probably Thursday! You know the drill: more reviews=faster updates!! :)