Tony felt like an idiot. He hated to look vulnerable in front of any one but tonight he just couldn't help himself. He sat beside Ziva on the love seat grasping her leg. He couldn't make himself let her go. What a rotten night. For Ziva's part she ignored him. She sat lifting her shirt up as the Autopsy Gremlin probed her ribs. It must have hurt like fury but she made no sound. At least she'd washed her face. The whole Braveheart look she had going was starting to creep him out. Meanwhile McGee stared out the window wishing himself invisible.
Tony shifted uncomfortably in his seat. I can't believe I got caught with my hand in the cookie jar. The one time that that wasn't what I was after. He desperately wanted to know what had transpired between Ziva and Gibbs behind his bedroom door but doubted she would ever tell him. She was the one woman he knew who really hated to 'talk about it.' "Hey Palmer-watch the boobs!" He snapped. The young man was seriously too eager to comply with Gibbs' order to 'check her out'.
Palmer startled, his fingers tips just under the swell of Ziva's breast. "I'm just palpitating her chest. She has extensive bruising and two cracked ribs I think. That's the best I can tell with out her going to the hospital."
"Still-watch the boobs." If the Autopsy Gremlin got any closer to Ziva's breasts Tony was going to 'palpitate' him and he didn't care who saw.
"I'm right here boys." Ziva said. "You can quite talking about me."
McGee, as if realizing he would not be able to disappear sat in the armchair adjacent to Tony's end of the love seat. "We're just worried is all Ziva. People usually go to the hospital when they look like you." Ziva's eyes went wide and she opened her mouth prepared to fire off a comeback. McGee was faster, "Not that you look bad, I mean, your chest does, but not you…" he stopped. He was just making it worse.
Palmer continued. "I'd wrap your ribs but I don't have any bandages. You're my first live patient. You'll just have to take it easy." He laughed. "Oh my! Did you get these bruises on your shoulder during the attack? I've never seen anything like them in conjunction with an attempted smmothering!" Excitedly he touched the raspberry like marks on her left shoulder with his index finger. Suddenly he recoiled, embarrassed. "Oh. Sorry about that. They're just love bites."
Ziva slapped Palmer's hand. "You tell Gibbs and no one will ever find your body." She warned. She was not by nature a shy or modest person but she still didn't appreciate having to share any specifics of her love life with him or McGee.
McGee sensing that Tony was distracted, slapped him on the back. "Nice work Hoover."
Tony grabbed him and pulled him close. He whispered in his ear in a voice just loud enough for Ziva to hear, "Knock it off Probie. You're lucky I like Abby or I'd tell every one you've been sleeping together!"
"You know?" McGee's jaw dropped. "You know and you didn't tell?"
"Tit for tat." Tony replied.
"Okay, Okay, I'm sorry."
"Sorry about what?" Gibbs asked, emerging from the bedroom with Ducky.
"Just a bad joke boss. It was nothing." Tony lied.
Gibbs ignored them and rousted Tony from his perch beside Ziva and sat down. "How did this guy get to you? Do you remember anything?" He sounded too cool for Tony's comfort, as if he hadn't just caught his senior agent with his hand in co-worker's pants. Was it the calm before the storm?
Ziva smoothed her shirt. "We had an argument, Tony went for a walk and I went bed. That's it." She never thought she'd be thankful for the knock down drag out fight they'd had earlier in the evening. If Tony hadn't gone for a walk they'd probably both be dead. She couldn't even remember what it was about. Oh yes. A date. They had yet to have a public date. Tony wanted one, she did not. "I think I was drugged." She added.
"It looks that way my dear," said Ducky, exiting the kitchen with a glass of water in hand. "I found an empty syringe. We'll know more when we get back to the lab." He paused. "You're lucky to be alive." He handed Ziva the glass. "Sedatives tend to make you very thirsty. Drink up my dear."
She accepted the glass and gulped it feverishly.
"Have any idea who this guy is?" Gibbs' eyes bored into her. She didn't seem to notice
"None. He's not Mossad or Hamas. He's not anything I recognize." She twisted the empty glass in her hands as she stared at it. "I think we can safely say this is about Ari."
"I'd believe that." Gibbs replied, his tone flat. "What we do know is this was a passionate attack. This guy wanted to watch you exit this world."
"I couldn't have guessed." Ziva retorted sarcastically.
"Whoever is behind this has had dozens of chances by now to kill you from afar. If we can keep you out of sight we can keep you safe for now." The concern in Gibbs' voice was evident. The team knew what he was thinking and they shared his worry. Not another Kate.
"What are we going to do with her?" Tony asked, scooting Palmer out of the way. He sat on the floor in front of Ziva.
"She needs to play dead until we figure this out." Gibbs said. The men in the room nodded in unison.
Ziva shook her head. "I'm not liking it. We don't know who they are. Our best chances are for another attack. I need to be visible for that. Besides, they're after Tony too." She said. Tony sent her a look that said "Shut Up." She ignored him and said, "What? You think I didn't hear that 'you're next' part?"
Gibbs gave a small amused laugh which was pretty much the equivalent of a belly laugh for anyone else. "Then the two of are getting a vacation to a government safe house with Fornell." He sounded slightly amused. Although with Gibbs sometimes it was hard to tell.
Ziva groaned and leaned back against the sofa. "I really don't want to go into hiding. Let me call a couple of contacts and I'll-"
Tony squeezed her hand. "Let's ID this guy first. Once we figure out who he is we can work backwards."
The look she shot him could have melted ice. "You are going along with this? I don't believe you!"
"You're not thinking right now. When we find who it is I promise you'll get first dibs, okay?" Tony smiled his half smile but it didn't reach his eyes. He was worried.
The team members all stared at her, wanting her to comply. Ziva thought of Tali and Jacob and Kate. She thought of the look on Tony's face as he held her when she struggled to breath. She couldn't put him through this. She couldn't put any of them through this again. This wasn't the time to think only of herself. "Okay," she said. "Okay we'll do it. One thing though, how do we get out of here with out being seen if we're supposed to be dead?"
Then it hit her. "Wait a minute." She said. I can't believe I'm going to suggest this. "Ducky, how well do you wash out your body bags?"