Chapter Thirty-Seven: Peanut Butter Love

Ziva David woke up that morning to the annoyance of a blaring alarm clock. Why did she have to set it for five? She wished she would have set it for two hours later but she knew she couldn't. She would be late for work if she did that. She reached over and smacked the button on top of the clock which turned the alarm off. Ziva looked beside her to find the bed empty. She then heard the shower running across the hall and the faint sound of Tony singing what sounded like Frank Sinatra. She smirked pleasantly and stood from her spot on the bed. She looked towards the open door and watched as Miriam came to the door.

"Hey Ziva," Miriam greeted, her frame covered in a blue and black checkered button up and deep blue denim jeans.

"Hi." Ziva replied with a small wave.

"You tired?" She asked.

Ziva nodded, rubbing her sleepy eyes before walking towards her.

"How are you feeling?" Miriam asked, putting her aging hands onto Ziva's growing bump.

"Tired, mostly, but, um, other than that, I am fine." She admitted as she placed her hands on top of Miriam's.

"That's good." She said with a small smile.

They went to the kitchen and Ziva began scouring the pantries and refrigerator for something to eat. She had no idea what it was she wanted but she knew that it was something specific. Miriam could only watch as the Israeli searched the entire kitchen. Ziva stopped when she saw it. It was a jar of chunky peanut butter. Licking her lips slightly, she reached for it and grabbed onto it. Ziva turned towards where the spoons were kept and found one. Screwing off the top, she could not wait to satisfy the irresistible craving for the peanut buttery substance. Meanwhile, Tony walked in, wearing only a pair of faded jeans. He then noticed the almost mesmerized look on Miriam's face.

"What is Ziva doing?" Tony asked as Miriam walked over.

"Uh, she's eating peanut butter." Miriam said, crossing her arms.

"Why?"

Miriam shrugged her shoulders, having no clue.

"Maybe it's a craving?" Miriam said.

Tony nodded, taking in this new information. Just then, Tony's cell phone began to vibrate. It was on the coffee table and Tony was quick to answer it.

"DiNozzo." He announced.

McGee's voice came from the other end.

"Hey Tony. We got a case. Bethesda Naval Hospital, let's go."

"On it, Probie." He said, before hanging up. "Zi, come on. We got a case."

Ziva jumped at the sound of that. She took one last bite of peanut butter before setting it on the counter and running to get her things. They arrived at the hospital to find a young blonde woman in a hospital bed.

"Here name is Dana Sutton. She's a sailor." Gibbs said.

Ziva looked at the woman and watched as the doctor performed a rape kit. Ziva swallowed hard, instantly hit with an onslaught of flashbacks. She had had the same procedure done when she returned from Somalia.

"She was raped?" Ziva asked shakily.

"Yes, Ziver." He replied. "When the doctors are done I want you to interview her."

Ziva could only nod as she watched the woman sob relentlessly. A single tear trickled down her puffy cheek which Ziva quickly wiped away. It wasn't more than fifteen minutes later that Ziva found herself sitting in a chair beside Dana's hospital bed.

"Hello Dana." Ziva said, speaking in a small voice.

"Hi." She said with a loud sniff. "What's your name?"

"I am Ziva David. I work with NCIS, Dana." She said with a sorrowful smile. "I know this must be hard for you but can you tell me what happened to you?"

"I can't." She said, sobs wanting to bust free from her at any given moment.

"I know what you're going through. I know this is terribly difficult." Ziva said, not trying to frighten her.

"You know nothing about what I went through!" Dana yelled.

"Actually," Ziva started, putting a hand up. "I do."

Dana furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She was dumbfounded by this.

"What are you trying to say?" She asked, sitting up in the bed.

"I was repeatedly raped a couple of years ago." She admitted, looking down at her lap.

"What happened?" She asked. "If you tell me about you I will tell you my story."

Ziva looked up at the victim, tears welling up in her eyes. She could remember every time every terrorist thrust themselves inside of her. She could remember every beating, every torture technique.

"A couple of years ago I was sent on a mission to Somalia but I was captured by a group of terrorists." She started. "For three months I was held in a camp by thirty men, all of whom knew how to get what they wanted for me."

By now Ziva had started to cry and Dana was too.

"They beat me, burned me, cut me, water boarded me, stabbed me, and then after all else failed…they raped me." She cried. "I don't think I even went a day without being raped."

"And now?" Dana asked. "After two years, how are you?"

"I am considerably better but there are days when I see something, hear something, that takes me back there and I can't help but break down."

Dana nodded and proceeded to tell Ziva what had happened to her. She stood to leave.

"Wait." Dana called. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes." Ziva said, looking over her shoulder.

"Are you pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Are you loved?"

"Yes."

Dana took in the information and allowed her to leave. Three days later the NCIS agents found a man by the name Charles Anderson who's semen matched the sample left inside Dana and he fit the description.

"I didn't screw that bitch." Anderson said as Tony DiNozzo walked into the interrogation.

"Shut up!" Tony yelled. "I am going to get the truth from you!"

Ziva stood in observation on the other side of the glass, a hand on her stomach. Just then, his attorney Henry Radcliff walked in.

"Stop the interrogation." He said. "I will not stand for my client being harassed."

"Who are you?" Ziva asked.

"Henry Radcliff, I am Anderson's attorney."