Tony's POV

"Ziva!"

I frantically pushed my finger around on Ziva's neck, searching for a pulse, panicking when my fingers didn't encounter one. I couldn't believe this was happening- we had been through too much together! I was about to start chest compressions, despite the obvious risk of Ziva losing more blood when I felt the slightest movement under my probing fingers. Freezing, I pressed my fingers more firmly into my wife's neck, hissing when I felt her pulse- it was there, but it was so weak! Ziva needed to get to a hospital right away. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked up into Gibb's calm blue eyes.

"She's alive Gibbs" I croaked. At the moment, those words were the only things keeping me from screaming, crying or picking up Ziva's knife and stabbing the gang member who had attacked her. "She's alive" I whispered again, more to myself than to Gibbs.

"I know Tony. McGee called in a medical helicopter; it should be here in five. I need you to help the Marines get her on a stretcher and ready to go to Bethesda." Looking around Gibb's form, I saw a group of agents and Marines trotting over with a stretcher that their medic had brought along, presumably brought along in case someone had been injured in the gunfight. The group placed the stretcher on the ground next to me, and I carefully lowered Ziva's limp form onto it. The Marines carefully strapped her to the stretcher, and at that moment I heard the thud of rotor blades. The red medical helicopter cleared the horizon, setting down quickly while keeping the motor running. Without a word, the Marines and agents picked the stretcher up and quickly brought Ziva into the body of the helicopter where the waiting paramedics took her in and immediately began to hook her up to an IV and oxygen mask. One of the paramedics turned to me.

"Agent DiNozzo, are you going to ride with her?" he asked. I didn't bother to respond, but instead I jumped into the helicopter and sat down near my wife's head. The paramedic turned to Gibbs, asking a question I couldn't hear. Gibbs shook his head, and yelled something back to the paramedic. Because of the deafening din from the rotors, I could only catch a few words.

"Get… to… hospital… we… process… crime…" Gibbs gave me a split-second look, nodding curtly. He then turned around and began to bark orders. As soon as he was clear, the paramedics gave the pilot the okay and the chopper lifted off.

The next few minutes flew by in a blur. I remembered nothing more than holding Ziva's limp hand in mine and silently praying for the helicopter to go faster. Several agonizing minutes later, I finally felt the chopper touch down. I quickly grabbed one of the stretcher's handles and helped the paramedics lower Ziva onto a waiting gurney. Once Ziva was loaded onto the gurney, the nurses began to wheel her off the helio pad and into a doorway. I started followed them, but as they entered a corridor, I was stopped by a six-foot tall male nurse.

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't let you follow them there. They're taking her into surgery right now" he said gently. "If you will follow me, I'll take you to an empty room so that you can fill out the information we need." The last thing that I wanted to do was follow a man that reminded me of a bulked-up McGee, but I knew arguing would do Ziva no good. I reluctantly followed the nurse, who identified himself as Ben Darson, to an empty ER room, where I sat down and filled out the paperwork as quickly as I could. Once it was finished, I handed it off to the first nurse that I saw, and then sat down and allowed myself to get lost in my thought. Memories from the fight began to race through my head.

The knife flashed in the weak sunlight, before its ugly blade sunk deep into Ziva's ribs. My wife's beautiful brown eyes widened in shock and pain, as her hand frantically scrabbled for the gun that she had accidentally dropped.

Then the triplets' faces filled my mind. How could they grow up without a mother? They couldn't, they wouldn't!

My knuckles gripped the edge of the chair until they turned white, and I felt myself shaking violently, struggling to contain the scream of pain, rage and fear that was building up inside of me. I was unaware of Gibb's presence until he rested his hand on my shoulder, causing me to nearly leap out of my chair.

"Take it easy DiNozzo. How is Ziva doing?"

"All I know is that she's in surgery right now, Boss. What about the triplets?"

"Abby, McGee, Ducky and Sara all went over to take care of them. I get to stay here with you." Gibbs grabbed a chair and pulled it over next to mine and took a seat with a sigh. We sat in uncomfortable silence for several minutes. Finally I couldn't take it any longer. "Dammit Boss, I can't lose her!" I slammed my fist down on the chair arm, wincing in pain as I hit the hard wood. Gibbs responded by raising an eyebrow.

"Keep that up DiNozzo, and you'll break that hand. Do you think that you're the only one feeling that way?" I looked up at him, and in that moment I saw my own grief and anguish reflected in his eyes. I realized that to him, losing Ziva would be like losing Kelly and Shannon all over again. I found comfort in our shared agony, and I gave him a grateful nod, too numb at the time for words. We sat silence again as the minutes ticked by. Gibbs closed his eyes, and to all appearances went to sleep, while I continued to stare out the window. Hours later, the sound of gurney wheels filled the air, and a few seconds later nurses wheeled in Ziva and a small fleet of medical machines. And at that moment I could only feel one feeling.

Pain. Agonizing mental pain.

As the team of nurses maneuvered Ziva into the room, every horrifying detail was painfully stark. Her skin had lost its normal healthy olive glow and had instead been replaced by a sickly pale pallor. Dozens of tubes and wires only added to the painful image. A breathing tube ran into her mouth and down her throat. Dozens of electrodes and wires had been placed on her chest and head. One tube led into her left arm, carrying donor blood, while an IV line was sunk into her right arm. An oxygen monitor was clipped to her left index finger while a blood pressure cuff was strapped to her right arm. A doctor walked in along with the nurses. She was an older woman, with short, spiked silver hair, piercing hazel eyes, and a lined face covered by a strict expression, leaving no doubt was in charge. The doctor stuck out her hand and clasped mine with a firm grip, introducing herself as Doctor Megan Tomes. After I gave her my name, she consulted her clipboard.

"Well Agent DiNozzo, as you can see, your wife, pardon the expression, has been through hell. She has three major stab wounds- two hit her ribs and were deflected, but one went in between her ribs and pierced her lung. Fortunately the lung did not collapse, but the wounds caused Ziva to lose a lot of blood, and she is having difficulty breathing. We were able to successfully sew up the wounds, but she isn't out of the woods yet. We put her in a medical coma to help her recover, and we're not sure when she will wake up." For the first time Dr. Tomes looked up, and I could see that saying this hurt. She let out a soft sigh. "I'm guessing that you're wondering what is going to happen now, and honestly right now I can't tell you. Ziva is a very strong woman, and if it had just been a simple stab wound, I would think her able to recover quickly. But because her lung was damaged, she may have difficulty recovering. There is always a risk of infection, and… well we will do our best." I could only nod at her words, and she quickly took this as a sign to leave. The nurses finished setting up the rest of the machines, and soon the room was empty of everyone except for the three of us. For several moments the only sound was the sound of Ziva's raspy breathing.

"Damn it Ziver" Gibbs growled. He got up and gently kissed Ziva on the forehead. "You had better recover. Your babies need you." He went over to the doorway. "I have to return back to the Navy Yard and finish my report. I'll be back as soon as possible." He walked out, and I pulled my chair closer to my unconscious wife. I gently took her hand and began to rub it with my thumb, while running my other hand through her hair.

"Zi" I whispered softly. I lowered my head onto her bed and began to sob.

I think I like cliffhangers too much...

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