Malachi opened the front door of a Mossad safe house that Ziva didn't recognise and motioned her inside.
"Tony!" She cried as she spotted him tied to a chair in the middle of the room. He smiled at her, slightly groggily. "Did he hurt you?"
"What happened?" She gently stroked his cheek as she assessed him.
"I am so sorry."
"Why are you sorry Zi?"
"You were a bargaining chip for my cooperation. I should never have let this happen."
"Hey, it's okay. It's not like you called people to kidnap me from my bed in the middle of the night. Right?" She glared at him gently before slipping a newly replaced knife from her waist and cutting his binds. Tony rubbed the feeling back into his wrists before standing up and embracing her. "Where are the kids?"
"With Tim and Abby." She murmured into his chest as he held her tighter. Malachi cleared his throat. Ziva left the safety of Tony's arms and turned to face him. "Will my doing this ensure his safety? That you never come back into my life and my home ever again? That Mossad will leave my family in peace?"
"You have my word: this is it." Ziva quickly looked up at her very confused husband and took his hand before facing Malachi once more.
"I need forty eight hours. You will not follow me or contact me in that time or all bets are off, understand?" He nodded. "I will meet you here at the end of this time."
"Ziva what's…?" Tony started, confusion dripping from his words.
"While I am doing this, my family are not to be contacted. Any of them. If I hear that they even think they are being followed, I will shoot you myself."
"Seems fair." Malachi smiled.
"Then…I guess I have no choice." She sighed. "If this means that Mossad is out of my life forever, then I guess you should count me in." Tony looked from one to the other.
"Zi?" She squeezed his hand gently as she turned to face him.
"I will explain when we get home. I promise."
"So?" Tony asked with an edge to his voice that she had expected. She sighed gently before sitting on the couch and motioning for him to join her.
"Several years before I came to America, I was tasked with a highly dangerous undercover op. My cover was to be Zara Kashier, a teacher of chemistry in a school in Paris. Zara was married to Aaron, Malachi's alias." She paused to gauge his reaction before continuing. "Our task was to take out four known terrorists that had been spotted. They had been hiding out ever since Mossad had tried to neutralise them the year earlier. We knew it was dangerous. We both knew the risks. I was teaching at the school where one of them had been working for little over two weeks when I was made. I was driving home one evening when my car was run off the road and I took heavy fire. Three to the abdomen and one to the chest. I called Malachi and said our pre-decided safe word. When I came to four days later, I was in a hospital in Tel Aviv. He told me that the cell had been disbanded but they had all gotten away. It now seems that they have joined forces once more. Out of the four, three of them were identified as the men that killed Zara. This case was supposed to remain shut." She stood up before crouching in front of Tony as he looked on at her in stunned silence.
"You promised me you were done with suicide missions." He pressed out through gritted teeth. She closed her eyes and sighed tearfully.
"That was before it was for you." She very quietly sobbed just the once before she stood up and made her way quickly to their bedroom. By the time he caught up with her, the bathroom door was locked and the shower was running.