Chapter 21 – Captivation
A nagging sensation, both familiar and vague, crept slowly over Tony as he lay sprawled across the cave floor. Disturbed from his sleep, he willed a heavy eye to open. A shadow of a man loomed over him, dark eyes peering into his. "Get up, Dinozzo."
Tony blinked rapidly in response and willed himself awake. "OK, getting up now. Something wrong, boss?"
Gibbs' eyes glanced down. Perplexed, Tony followed suit. . .and saw Ziva's still sleeping form half-straddling his body, her face turned into his chest and an arm draped across his shoulder.
"Um—er, well," Tony stammered, but Gibbs cut him off. "The prisoner's awake. It's your turn to guard him," he said as he stalked away to the center of the cave, where Jenny stood over the dwindling fire and fed fresh wood into the flames.
Tony swallowed hard, and pushed away the anger that grew the more he considered a certain rule. He returned his gaze to the woman that brewed such heresy within him; despite the damage and dirt she had accumulated the past week, a serenity Tony had seldom seem before shone on Ziva's face. He dared to imagine that he contributed to her peaceful sleep, and his anger quickly dissipated into a melancholy hope that she would eventually learn to live without fear again.
He called her name, softly at first, but with increasing volume as she remained lost in slumber. She finally lifted her head up, ran a hand through her wild hair, and gave him a look he would have thought murderous if it hadn't been for the half-formed grin she had. "It is still dark out, Tony. Why are you waking me?"
"Gibbs wants me to babysit our newly cured captive."
With a suddenness that left Tony bewildered, Ziva shot to her feet and glanced around the cave. Tony saw her face fall when Gibbs met her gaze, and he felt another flash of rage sweep over him. He pulled himself up and reached for Ziva. Backpedaling away from his grasp, she rushed to Jenny's side and spoke quietly into her ear. A moment later, Ziva hurried to the cave entrance, avoiding Gibbs' gaze while Jenny followed fast behind. "Bathroom break," said Jenny before she disappeared after Ziva.
Tony stood rooted to the ground. He alternated clenching and unclenching his fists, and swept his eyes around the cave. Tim sat alone in the deepest end of the cavern, gripping the M1 carbine and glancing back and forth between the scene that just unfolded before him and the stone-faced behemoth of a man that sat against the cave wall, hands and feet bound with rope. Several feet away, stretched across a stone slab and oblivious to the world, Abby lay sleeping with a rolled up sack for a pillow and the remnants of a parachute for a blanket. Tony let his gaze settle on Gibbs, who stared back with an intensity that matched his. "Conference room," they said in unison, then turned towards Tim, who nodded in realization. "Uh, I'll keep an eye on him," said Tim as he turned his attention back to his captive.
Gibbs gave him a grunt of acknowledgment and headed to mouth of the cave with Tony hot on his heels.
* * *
Ziva emerged from the bushes with a relieved bladder and a distressed mind. She ambled slowly to the water's edge and watched the cascading waterfall churn the black water below into billowy white waves that sparkled in the light of a half moon. A chill wind seeped through her thin clothing, bringing back images of a dank stone cell that roasted in a desert heat by day and plunged to an unbearable cold by night. How many times had she lost hope in those nightmarish nights, clinging to life and sanity only by the force of memories? Long before he crossed the world to avenge her death, he had kept her alive, the thought of his crystal green eyes looking again into hers enough to stir another beat from her despondent heart. But she could not bring herself to disobey the man who had made himself a father to her, a replacement magnitudes greater than the one that sacrificed her to that vicious fate.
A gentle nudge to her shoulder broke Ziva from her troubled thoughts. Jenny gave her a smile so warm it seemed to tame the cold breeze that swept around them. "Talk to me," she said in a tone that resembled both a statement and a question.
"Is it not obvious?" said Ziva with a forced smile.
"Is it obvious that Tony loves you? Yes, it is."
Ziva's eyebrows furrowed. "Is it not apparent that I love him as well?"
Jenny folded her arms and stared into the starlit sky as she weighed the question. "Yes, I suppose so."
Ziva felt her skin burn. "That is not fair. I would die for him!"
Jenny curled an eyebrow. "And yet you would let something as silly as a little guideline keep you from being with him?"
"It is not my rule to break. Gibbs has our best interests at heart."
Jenny stifled a chuckle. "I must apologize, Ziva. It is my fault."
Ziva shook her head in incomprehension. "I do not understand. How is this your fault?"
"When I first met Jethro, rule twelve was 'never turn your back on a suspect.' Sometime after. . .after Paris. . ." Jenny's voice trailed off for a moment with a wistful look in her eyes. "As I said, I'm sorry. And before you tell me to 'never apologize,' just remember that rule does not apply between friends. And Ziva, about La Grenioulle. . ."
"No," said Ziva abruptly. "No, you do not need to apologize for that. You were doing what you felt you needed to do to protect your country. Tony will come to understand that."
Jenny pulled her friend into an embrace. "That may be, but I think I knew then that you loved him. Even if you didn't know it yet."
Ziva returned the hug with a fervor that surprised them both. As they pulled apart, a sudden cry sounded through the night.
* * *
Tim ran an absent-minded finger up and down the barrel of the M1 carbine, his thoughts whirling around the impending shouting match he was sure to come between Tony and Gibbs outside the cave. He glanced over to the twice-bandaged and twice-bound man that sat a few feet in front of him. Tim noted with some self-satisfaction that the man, Rathos as Gibbs remembered his dead companion addressing him, seemed to be on the path to recovery from his wounds. Tim had long feared that he had forgotten most of his medical courses he had taken at John Hopkins, but between him and Abby they were able to patch up their captive.
His gaze fell on where Abby lay. A smile broke over his face as he thought of the efforts she had expended to rescue him from the Komodo dragon's infectious attack. Perhaps, if Tony were to be allowed to break rule twelve, he and Abby could finally reveal their long-resumed relationship. Although Tim had a gut feeling that Gibbs might have been aware all along. . .
A sudden movement from his prisoner drew Tim's attention. Rathos adjusted his weight on the hard stone floor, his eyes boring into Tim's.
"Hey. What are you doing over there?" Tim hoped his voice sounded stronger than it felt.
Rather than answer, Rathos settled back down. His face rendered no emotion, but his black eyes seemed to flame with a passionate hatred as they remained focused on Tim.
"Look, you're going to be with us for awhile. At least tell me something about yourself," said Tim sternly.
Rathos answered with naught but a more intense gaze.
Somewhat miffed, Tim slunk against a rock and resolved to win this impromptu staring contest. After a few minutes of a palpably tense silence, Tim gradually became aware of heated voices echoing through the cavern. Tim had never heard such a heated argument between Tony and the man he practically worshipped. As their tones escalated, Tim broke away from his little game with Rathos and tried to angle his vision towards the cave entrance in the hope that he could see the debate.
No matter how much he leaned his body towards the entrance, Tony and Gibbs remained out of sight. The volume of the argument having decreased, Tim resigned himself to asking Tony for details later and returned his gaze to his captive. His gaze locked on the empty corner of the cave, then crept up to see huge eyes bearing down on him, flames flickering in their bloodshot orbs.
* * *
As soon as they were a few feet from the cave entrance, Gibbs whirled on Tony, his eyes flashing with anger in the dark. "Tell me you haven't broken rule twelve!"
"You know, I'm really getting tired of hearing about that stupid rule," growled Tony. He dug his heel into the dirt, as if the act would help him to metaphorically stand his ground.
Gibbs gestured to the surrounding forest. "Dammit, Dinozzo! This is not some exotic vacation for you to act out your Bond fantasies. I need you focused on the task at hand!"
"What task? For all we know that cretin in there could be the only native left on this God-forsaken rock! And if there's a search party out looking for us, they must be completely lost, because I sure haven't seen any sign of them!"
"Don't try to change the subject, Tony. They are rules for a reason. I'm not going to let you hurt her," said Gibbs, a finger raised in warning. "I'm not, not after last summer."
Tony felt a rush of mingled emotions overwhelm him, anger mixed with guilt, shock tinged with despair. He spoke in a hushed whisper. "You believe I killed Rivkin out of jealousy, don't you?"
Gibbs visibly softened and shook his head. "I didn't say that. But she thought so, for a time."
Tony's mind reeled, and heartache burned through his veins like a liquid flame. He drew on every fiber of his being, taxed every ounce of his strength to make his best case. "Boss," he said, emphasizing the word with a reverent tone, "I love Ziva." His voice swelled in power. "As much as I respect you and the rules, I will not let her go again. I can't. I will die, maybe not physically; but here, inside, where it matters, I will absolutely cease to exist. She is my Shannon, my Kelly, my Jenny. I love her."
Tony slumped to his knees, the effort of his words having stolen his strength. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up to see Gibbs leaning over him, a hint of a smile on his face.
"Tony, rule twelve says coworkers shouldn't date."
"Uh, yeah," Tony smirked, "Isn't that why we're out here screaming at each other?"
Gibbs patted him on the shoulder and pulled him to his feet. "It doesn't say anything about soulmates."
A smile broke out over Tony's face, but his next words were drowned out by a loud shout echoing from within the cavern.
* * *
Tony was the first to burst into the cave, with Gibbs nearly toppling him over from behind. They skidded to a halt in shock at the scene before them, which is how Ziva and Jenny found them when they bounded into the cavern mere seconds later. They too ground to a halt in utter surprise, amazed at the sight of Abby, posing like a hunter in possession of a prize catch with one foot planted squarely in the back of her capture and a Kalashnikov rifle pointed down at his head, beamed with glee from atop their foiled escapee. Off to the side, Tim busied himself with rebinding the prisoner's hands and feet, a thick bruise developing on the side of his haggard face. He stood to his feet, pulled a sliver of metal from one pocket and a silver wristwatch from another, and held them out to Gibbs. "Boss, the razor was in his watch."
Abby cheerily interjected. "Lucky for you, Tim, the rifle was in my hands."
Tim rolled his eyes and gave Gibbs an apologetic look. "Boss, I will never again question the wisdom of sleeping with a gun."
* * *
Sorry for the long delay! I had a monster of a deadline at work this week, but wrote a longer-than-usual chapter to try to make up for it! :-)